...
{3rd Pov}
“What do you think about this, Puck?” Emilia asked quietly, turning toward her spirit father with visible uncertainty in her expression. At this point, she genuinely wanted a way out of the situation that had spiraled far beyond her expectations. Everything had become too overwhelming too quickly, and she no longer knew how she was supposed to handle it properly.
Puck floated beside her, his small body still radiating irritation from the earlier confrontation. The spirit let out a low growl before answering.
“Isn’t it obvious, Lia?” he said, his tone sharp with displeasure. “They wanted an excuse to badmouth you, and they used that boy as a tool to do it.”
His tail swayed slightly behind him in annoyance as he continued speaking.
“And that’s not all. You are the candidate with the least support among the Royal Candidates. From the beginning, they have looked down on you because of your heritage and your lack of political influence. Now they saw an opportunity to pressure you further, so naturally they grouped together to weaken your position and damage your chances in the Royal Selection.”
There was clear hostility in his voice as he spoke about the other candidates. He wanted to make it for her that the situation was simple. They were targeting Emilia because she was vulnerable politically, and Subaru had merely become a convenient excuse to attack her.
However, as he looked back at Emilia, his expression softened slightly.
“But…” he added after a brief pause, “it also proves something important.”
Emilia blinked in confusion.
“That they are scared of you.”
“Scared of me?” Emilia repeated honestly, sounding more puzzled than surprised. Then she lowered her gaze slightly before replying in a calm and straightforward manner. “I already know that, Puck. I’m a silver-haired half-elf after all.”
There was no bitterness in her tone.
She said it as if it were simply a normal fact of life.
After all, this was not something new to her. Ever since she was young, people had feared her appearance because it resembled the Witch of Envy from the legends. Suspicion, discomfort, and fear from others had become something she had long grown accustomed to.
So when Puck said that others were scared of her, Emilia did not find it surprising in the slightest.
“Ughh!” Puck suddenly slapped his own furry cheeks with his tiny paws, making an exaggerated expression of frustration as if he could not believe the misunderstanding that had just happened.
“I’m sorry, Lia. My bad!” he said quickly, shaking his head before floating around her in agitation. “That’s not what I meant at all! I wasn’t talking about your appearance this time. I meant they are scared of you as an actual Royal Candidate!”
As he spoke, he pumped his little cat paws dramatically into the air, trying his best to emphasize the point.
“As a Royal Candidate?” Emilia repeated, still sounding confused as she looked at him.
“Yes!” Puck replied immediately. “Just think about it carefully for a second, Lia. These people are all powerful candidates with influence, armies, and supporters behind them. And yet, despite all that, they still felt the need to unite together just to pressure the candidate who supposedly has the lowest chance of winning!”
He paused briefly before continuing with even more energy.
“Doesn’t that tell you something? If they truly thought you were harmless or irrelevant, they would not waste this much effort targeting you. The fact they are acting like this means they are worried. Deep down, they are scared that you might actually win the Royal Selection.”
His tone became increasingly confident as he explained his interpretation of the situation to her.
“They are treating you seriously because they recognize you as a threat, even if they won’t openly admit it.”
Emilia blinked several times as she processed his words.
Then suddenly, something clicked inside her mind.
“So… they don’t actually mean those things they said?” she asked slowly, trying to piece it together. “This is what people call a 'Political' move?”
“Yes! Exactly!” Puck exclaimed immediately, clearly relieved that she had understood what he was trying to say.
“That’s right, Lia! You finally get it!”
His tail flicked happily behind him as he floated in circles, visibly pleased with himself for managing to dispel the self-doubt that had begun forming inside her.
In truth, ever since the other Royal Candidates had openly criticized her and pointed out the consequences of her careless actions, Emilia had started doubting herself more and more.
Their words had affected her far deeper than she initially showed. For the first time in a while, she seriously questioned whether she had unknowingly become the kind of person she disliked the most, someone whose actions hurt others despite having good intentions.
And that thought genuinely frightened her.
If that alone was not enough, she had also begun wondering whether she was even suited to stand as a Royal Candidate in the first place. Compared to the others, she lacked experience, political understanding, and confidence. The more she compared herself to them, the more inadequate she started feeling.
Puck noticed all of it.
He understood Emilia better than anyone else.
And because of that, he also understood something dangerous. If Emilia decided to withdraw from the Royal Selection now, she would not simply move on peacefully. She would blame herself for everything that happened and carry that guilt forever.
That was something he absolutely refused to allow.
So, in order to stop her from spiraling further into self doubt, he immediately began doing what he considered necessary Gaslighting.
Cough.
Building up her self-esteem.
After all, Puck knew something important.
Emilia had no one else besides him.
And because of that, he was willing to go to any lengths necessary to make her happy and protect her emotionally. To him, nothing mattered more than Emilia’s wellbeing.
Because in his eyes, she was his daughter.
Meanwhile, Emilia clenched her fists tightly before puffing out her cheeks slightly in frustration.
“I really thought everyone genuinely meant those things they said,” she complained with a pout. “But to think they were actually making a political move against me…”
Her expression became slightly more serious afterward.
“They really are powerful competitors.”
Even though she felt frustrated by their actions, she still did not resent them completely. In her mind, if they were truly taking her seriously as a political rival, then perhaps their behavior made sense from that perspective.
Meanwhile, beside her, Puck secretly wiped away imaginary sweat from his furry forehead in relief.
‘I used to wonder what those Kingdom studies’ were exactly' he thought internally. ‘But it seems they are finally proving useful!’
...
“Princess, I have to ask now… what exactly is going on?” Aldebaran finally asked after they had been given private quarters within the mansion to rest temporarily.
The moment the door closed behind them, the relaxed attitude he usually carried disappeared slightly. Up until now, he had been holding back his questions because too many people had been around them. But after everything that had happened today, he could no longer ignore the growing confusion in his mind.
Priscilla Barielle did not answer immediately.
Instead, her sharp eyes slowly moved toward the walls of the room as if examining the surroundings carefully.
“Wait a moment, Aldebaran,” she said calmly. “Is this mansion not the residence of a Great Spirit?”
The moment she said that, Aldebaran immediately understood what she was implying.
Without wasting time, he raised his hand slightly and cast a Wind spell around the room. The mana moved subtly through the air before forming a barrier that interfered with the propagation of sound beyond a certain radius.
The noise isolation was not perfect against truly monstrous beings, but it was more than enough to prevent ordinary eavesdropping.
“You knew about that I had this kind of magic, Princess?” he asked after finishing the spell, sounding slightly surprised.
Although Aldebaran possessed extensive magical knowledge obtained from Echidna in the previous timeline, his own magical talent and potential remained limited. Because of that, there were many advanced spells he understood theoretically but could barely use in practice.
Still, techniques like this, small utility spells with low mana consumption and tricky applications, were within his capabilities.
Priscilla Barielle calmly took a seat on the sofa, crossing her legs elegantly as she leaned back slightly. Outwardly, she appeared completely composed as always, but internally her thoughts were moving carefully as she considered how to handle the current situation with Aldebaran.
More specifically, she was thinking about how to keep him under control.
‘As long as Aldebaran does not learn the true extent of my relationship with Subaru, he should continue obeying me for now,’ she thought quietly to herself.
That was the key point.
Right now, Aldebaran still lacked critical information. As long as he remained unaware of certain truths from the previous timeline, Priscilla believed she could still direct him and keep him manageable.
Because once he learned everything things could become extremely dangerous.
Priscilla did not fear battle itself. Even if Aldebaran betrayed her, even if he turned against her openly, she would still confront him head on without hesitation. Running from a fight had never been part of her nature.
However, there was something she did fear.
The possibility of Aldebaran succeeding in his objective.
More specifically, succeeding in removing Natsuki Subaru from the board entirely.
That was unacceptable.
Because he was her darling.
Subaru’s existence itself interfered with Aldebaran’s Authority to a certain extent. The exact mechanics were difficult to explain fully, but from Priscilla’s own experience, she knew that Subaru could disrupt or counteract Al’s power in ways others could not.
And that was not the only reason.
Subaru was also the only person capable of properly using the sealing spell necessary to imprison Aldebaran permanently.
Without him, stopping Al completely would become far more difficult.
That was why she could not allow Subaru to disappear from her reach.
As for the obvious alternative of seeking out another Yin magic user, Priscilla had already dismissed that idea long ago.
She did not trust them.
Nor did she believe any of them would truly be capable of dealing with Aldebaran if things went wrong.
“How much do you know?” Aldebaran finally asked, his tone far more serious than before.
Across from him, Priscilla Barielle lazily adjusted her posture on the sofa, appearing completely relaxed despite the tension in the room.
Instead of answering directly, she looked at him with faint amusement in her eyes.
“Do you truly believe I would tolerate one of my own servants hiding his abilities from me?” she asked calmly.
Aldebaran immediately paused.
The question itself already told him enough.
After a brief silence, he let out a tired sigh.
Priscilla continued before he could properly respond.
“I care very little about what my servants do behind my back,” she said casually. “However, hiding the truth from my divine self is a different matter entirely.”
A small mocking smile appeared on her face.
“You should instead be wondering how many times I have already killed you.”
That single statement caused the atmosphere in the room to shift instantly.
Aldebaran stiffened slightly before instinctively reaching up and tapping his helmet, subtly adjusting its position to hide the tension that had appeared in his posture.
“T-This…” he muttered, momentarily struggling to find the correct response.
Priscilla, meanwhile, acted as if nothing unusual had happened.
“Natsuki Subaru has rendered a great service to me,” she said smoothly without missing a beat. “As such, my divine self graciously decided to bestow upon him the promise that he would not die so easily under my watch.”
As she spoke, she casually picked up a glass cup from the nearby table and lightly tapped it against the wooden surface, the soft sound echoing quietly through the room.
Aldebaran quickly broke out of his momentary trance and immediately moved to act. Without wasting another second, he grabbed the nearby pot and carefully poured water into Priscilla Barielle’s cup.
Priscilla accepted it naturally, as if the earlier conversation had not shaken the atmosphere at all.
She calmly brought the cup toward her lips and took a sip, heck she even sucked the water forming a small twister before gulping it down in one go.
Aldebaran remained standing in place while watching her, his thoughts rapidly piecing together everything he had learned so far.
And finally—
It clicked.
‘So that’s how it is…’ he thought internally.
From his perspective, the situation now made much more sense.
‘Bro must have helped the Princess in a huge way during the previous loop and, in return, ended up receiving a very serious promise from her.’
That explanation fit the situation perfectly in his mind.
Because honestly, once someone truly learned about the nature of Natsuki Subaru’s power, it was difficult to react normally. Aldebaran understood that better than most people.
The sheer cruelty behind such an ability was enough to unsettle anyone.
Even someone like Priscilla.
‘I guess even the Princess would feel disgusted after understanding the true nature of that power,’ he concluded logically.
To him, Priscilla’s current behavior toward Subaru no longer seemed random or irrational. It stemmed from two things.
First, the promise she had made.
And second, the fact that she knew the truth behind Subaru’s ability.
That alone explained why she was acting so differently compared to before.
At the same time, Aldebaran also noticed something important.
Priscilla was being extremely careful with her wording.
She never openly spoke about the details.
She only hinted at them indirectly and that caution told him another thing.
She was fully aware of the consequences tied to the Satella and the Witch of Envy.
Of course, Priscilla Barielle had managed to mislead Aldebaran without much difficulty. She only revealed the information that was necessary while carefully avoiding anything that could expose too much. At the same time, she did not particularly care whether Aldebaran fully believed her explanation or secretly doubted parts of it.
From her perspective, that hardly mattered.
The circumstances themselves already placed Aldebaran in a position where pressing her too deeply would be dangerous. He understood her personality well enough to know that continuously questioning her would not end favorably for him in any possible scenario.
Because of that, he chose restraint.
As for the possibility that Priscilla might actually be in love with Natsuki Subaru, Aldebaran did not seriously consider it.
To him, Priscilla was not someone who could be measured using ordinary standards.
She lived like a blazing sun, overwhelming everything around her with absolute confidence and self centered pride. Trying to judge her using normal logic was pointless from the very beginning.
In fact, based on what he knew about her personality, she was the type of woman who could casually kiss a complete stranger if the circumstances amused her enough or if she found some temporary value in doing so.
That was simply the kind of person she was.
So from Aldebaran’s point of view, her behavior toward Subaru did not automatically indicate romantic feelings. He interpreted it more as a mixture of curiosity, obligation, amusement, and possessiveness born from the previous timeline.
However there was one critical detail Aldebaran completely failed to account for.
Subaru himself.
More specifically, the kind of person Subaru was when it came to relationships.
After all, Subaru had once managed to make even Aldebaran’s own Sensei fall in love with him. A person who originally lacked emotions associated with normal human affection had still ended up loving him deeply.
That alone should have been enough to prove how abnormal Subaru truly was in that regard.
In a strange way, he possessed something almost impossible to escape from.
An absurd level of attraction toward mentally unstable or abnormal women.
And unfortunately for Aldebaran’s assumptions, Priscilla absolutely counted as one of those women.
Which meant that the possibility of her genuinely being in love with Subaru was not low at all.
In fact, it was frighteningly high.
“Aldebaran, the moment Subaru wakes up, notify my divine self immediately. I will not allow others to claim what belongs to me,” Priscilla Barielle said without the slightest hesitation.
To her, those words were completely natural.
After all, in her mind, her darling belonged to her just as much as she belonged to him. The feeling was mutual from her perspective, so there was nothing strange about calling him her property.
However, Aldebaran could never fully understand the actual meaning hidden behind Priscilla’s words.
He did not know the depth of the relationship shared between Priscilla and Natsuki Subaru in the previous timeline. He lacked the context necessary to grasp why she sounded so possessive or why she was acting with such intensity.
“Understood, Princess,” he replied obediently.
At the same time, his own thoughts drifted elsewhere.
‘So the Princess really sees Bro as her property,’ he thought internally. ‘No wonder she’s this worked up over him.’
Then another thought crossed his mind, one that made him feel oddly conflicted.
‘Man… I wonder if I’ll ever receive that kind of treatment from her.’
A bitter amusement formed inside him at the idea.
‘Though honestly, I’d probably never betray the Princess enough to even test something like that.’
Despite everything, despite the countless deaths he had experienced over what felt like millions of loops, Aldebaran still valued his life deeply.
Or more accurately—
He valued the life he spent beside Priscilla.
That was the truth.
He simply lacked the courage to pull some reckless stunt just to test whether Priscilla would go to extreme lengths for his sake or not.
Because knowing Priscilla, the result would likely be far less romantic than he imagined.
The moment she realized he was intentionally pulling some manipulative nonsense to test her feelings, he was fairly certain he would end up thrown out immediately.
Homeless.
Probably beaten.
And very likely missing his remaining hand as well.
…
‘Now we need to talk, Anastasia.’
The voice echoed directly inside Anastasia Hoshin’s mind, coming from the scarf wrapped around her neck.
At the moment, Anastasia was alone inside her assigned room within the mansion. Earlier, several people from her camp had clearly wanted to question her about everything that had happened throughout the day. There were too many strange events, too many suspicious actions, and far too many things that did not make sense from their perspective.
However, Anastasia had smoothly avoided all of those discussions for now.
She simply stated that this was neither the appropriate place nor the appropriate time to discuss sensitive matters while they were inside another camp’s territory. Using that excuse, she managed to dismiss the others temporarily and secure herself a rare moment of quiet.
At least, quiet in theory.
Because in reality, she was not truly alone.
The scarf around her neck still remained.
And with it the spirit residing within.
Her feelings toward the artificial spirit known as Echidna, or more specifically Eridna, were extremely complicated.
In her previous life, Eridna had been the closest existence to her for a very long time. She had trusted her, relied on her, and considered her an irreplaceable companion. No matter how difficult things became, the spirit had remained by her side.
At least until her name was erased.
After that everything changed.
Eridna disappeared from her life completely.
At first, Anastasia felt betrayed.
Then came anger.
A deep resentment toward the spirit that had abandoned her during the period when she needed someone the most.
But eventually, even those emotions faded.
What remained afterward was something colder.
Something distant and emotionless.
By the end of her previous timeline, Anastasia no longer truly considered Eridna someone close to her. To her, the spirit had become little more than a stranger wearing the memories of someone she once cared about.
And now she was back to the point in timeline when that stranger again was her most closely guarded secret.
‘I cannot talk about it,’ Anastasia Hoshin replied directly within her mind. ‘There is a contract involved. There are many things that will not make sense right now, but I still want ya to support me regardless.’
Her response was calm, but carefully measured.
Almost immediately, Echidna answered back through the scarf.
‘I never saw you form any such contract before,’ Eridna replied, her tone carrying clear suspicion at first. Then after a brief pause, her voice softened noticeably. ‘Tell me honestly… no, actually, don’t answer directly. Just give me a sign. Did something bad happen to you?’
There was genuine worry in her voice.
‘And here I thought she would start questioning every single word I said,’ Anastasia thought internally.
The situation felt strangely unfamiliar to her now.
Having these kinds of interactions again.
Hearing concern directed toward her again.
It felt odd after everything that had happened in her previous timeline.
Of course, Anastasia made sure to keep certain thoughts isolated whenever she was not actively communicating with Eridna. She had become far more cautious about what she allowed others to know.
Even so, a small part of her realized something.
Under different circumstances, perhaps she truly would have tried to reconnect with them again. Maybe she would have attempted to trust Eridna once more, to rebuild what they once had before everything fell apart.
But things were different now.
Because after experiencing that previous timeline, Anastasia had come to a conclusion she no longer questioned.
In this world, there was only one person she truly believed would continue trusting her even if everyone else forgot her existence.
Only one person who would still reach out to her regardless of memory, logic, or circumstance.
Natsuki Subaru.
Her husband.
To Anastasia, no one else could ever replace him.
And more than that no one else was even worthy of being considered for that position in the first place.
Hatred?
Anger?
Care?
At some point, most of those emotions had faded from Anastasia Hoshin’s heart.
Time, suffering, and everything that happened in the previous timeline had worn them down until very little remained. The emotions she once held toward many people no longer carried the same intensity they used to.
Perhaps the only resentment she still possessed toward people like Julius Juukulius and Emilia did not even stem from personal hatred anymore.
It was because of Subaru.
Because in her eyes, these people had hurt Natsuki Subaru before.
And given the chance, they would hurt him again.
That was the reason she could not forgive them completely.
To Anastasia, Subaru was not perfect.
Far from it.
He was flawed, emotional, reckless, insecure, and often made mistakes that complicated everything around him.
But despite all of that he remained true to himself.
He never tried to pretend to be someone he was not.
Even when he acted foolishly, even when he failed, even when others mocked or rejected him, Subaru still continued struggling honestly in his own way.
And Anastasia understood something that Subaru himself could never fully believe.
He was a hero.
No matter what anyone else called him.
No matter how much he hated himself.
No matter how many times the world tried to crush him.
He was still a hero in her eyes.
And more than that he was kind.
Even after being betrayed, insulted, abandoned, and hurt repeatedly, he still continued trying to help others.
That kind of person deserved happiness.
He deserved to live peacefully.
And as his wife, Anastasia believed it was her responsibility to ensure that happened no matter what.
Compared to Subaru, people like Julius only irritated her further.
Because from her perspective, Julius Juukulius merely acted the role of a perfect knight.
Everything about him felt artificial to her now.
His elegance.
His politeness.
His composure.
All of it looked like a carefully maintained mask designed to compensate for his own inferiority complex rather than something genuine.
Anastasia Hoshin finally broke out of her thoughts and let out a slow sigh before replying internally once again.
‘Eridna, there is no need for a sign,’ she said quietly within her mind. ‘Just understand this much. I cannot tell you the truth, not even like this, because if you were to learn about it… something very bad would happen.’
Her tone carried absolute seriousness.
And Echidna could immediately tell that Anastasia genuinely meant every word she said.
Of course, Anastasia herself did not fully understand the actual mechanism behind it. She knew nothing about the Satella or the true nature of the taboo surrounding Subaru’s ability. Nor did she realize that what restricted her was effectively comparable to a contract enforced by forces beyond ordinary understanding.
From Anastasia’s own perspective, the meaning was much simpler.
If someone learned the truth and became a danger to Subaru because of it, then she would have no choice but to eliminate them herself.
That was the conclusion she had already accepted long ago.
Trusting others not to harm Natsuki Subaru after learning such information?
To her, that idea was laughably naive.
She had already seen enough in the previous timeline to abandon that kind of optimism completely.
After all, she had witnessed what people became once circumstances changed.
She had seen betrayals.
Fear.
Self-preservation.
And the way people’s priorities shifted when Subaru’s suffering became inconvenient to them.
That experience alone was enough to make her question the very concept of trusting others in the first place even if they hadn't lost their memories about her.
‘Very well, Anastasia. I will trust you,’ Echidna finally replied after a brief silence. ‘However, if your life is ever placed in danger, then I may choose not to obey your orders. The entire situation surrounding you right now is strange. I do not understand what kind of contract you formed or what exactly happened to you. But regardless of that, I cannot compromise when it comes to your safety.’
Her response was calm but firm, showing concern for her.
Because among all the people in the world, the person Eridna loved the most was Anastasia Hoshin herself.
And that love was exactly why the current situation disturbed her so much.
There were simply too many things that did not make sense anymore.
For example, Anastasia should not have been capable of properly using magic due to her defective gate. Yet somehow, she had displayed magical abilities earlier without showing the usual limitations.
Then there was the matter of Natsuki Subaru.
Why was Anastasia so obsessed with him?
Emotionally invested to an abnormal degree.
And beyond that, there was another inconsistency Eridna could not ignore.
Anastasia somehow possessed information she logically should not know. Information that Eridna had never seen her researching, investigating, or even thinking deeply about beforehand.
All of it together painted an unsettling picture.
Because from Eridna’s perspective, there was a genuine possibility that Anastasia was being manipulated by some unknown existence. Perhaps someone had tampered with her mind, altered her memories, or deceived her senses without her realizing it.
If that were truly the case then even if it went against Anastasia’s direct wishes, Eridna knew she would eventually have to intervene personally.
And that was precisely why she intentionally stated that she might refuse Anastasia’s orders if necessary.
It was not just a warning.
It was also a test.
A way to observe Anastasia’s reaction and determine whether her current behavior truly belonged to her own will or whether some outside influence was controlling her.
‘Very well. You are free to do so,’ Anastasia Hoshin replied calmly without showing the slightest hesitation.
She had already realized what Echidna was doing.
The spirit was testing her.
More specifically, Eridna was trying to determine whether Anastasia was truly acting according to her own will or whether she had somehow fallen under another person’s influence.
And honestly, Anastasia could not even blame her for being suspicious.
After all, the former Anastasia’s relationship with Eridna had been built on an enormous amount of trust. Even if Anastasia’s feelings toward Eridna had never reached the same overwhelming intensity that Eridna herself held for her, it was still undeniably one of the closest bonds she had possessed in her previous life.
If it had been the old Anastasia speaking here, she likely would not have reacted negatively at all to Eridna openly prioritizing her safety over obedience.
Because back then, they truly had been that close.
Even now, Anastasia understood that much clearly.
Still whether she personally minded the situation or not was irrelevant.
She refused to allow her emotions to dictate her actions.
Not when so much depended on the outcome.
Because Anastasia understood something very well.
If she wanted to win this competition, then she needed to keep playing carefully until the very end.
And among everyone currently fighting over Natsuki Subaru, Anastasia knew exactly what her greatest strength was her intellect.
Her ability to observe, manipulate situations, calculate risks, and outmaneuver others mentally.
That was her greatest weapon.
And in this war over Subaru it was also her only true advantage.
To be continued...