I held my breath the moment I slowly twisted the doorknob.

I had a strange sensation.

As I calmly walked around the mansion, one particular door caught my attention insistently.

Leaving Emilia and the others in the living room for just a moment, Subaru wandered alone and found it upon stepping into the second-floor hallway of the main mansion.

The moment I touched the doorknob, the doubt turned into certainty, and as I pushed the door open, I had no lingering questions.

Accepting only the fact that it was “just there,” I stepped into the room.

“Yo, long time no see.”

The Forbidden Library, unchanged from before, spread out before me.

The girl who was the master of the dimly lit room, still engrossed in a book, was sitting on the step ladder she was using as a chair, her expression unchanged.

“I was wondering why the mansion was noisy; turns out you had come back, huh?”

She glanced up at me, her eyes reflecting Subaru, and Beatrice uttered those words with a hint of boredom. Almost immediately, she lost interest again and returned her gaze to the book.

“Since you’re back, your big sister must be here too. It’s concerning to feel that annoying bugs are around her.”

“Pack’s busy recharging or something, and I don’t like treating Emilia like some side dish. I’ll ignore how Otto’s treated for now, considering he’s a bug after all.”

“You’re so noisy.”

Beatrice snorted at Subaru’s dull banter and shifted her legs under her extravagant dress. Watching this, Subaru walked slowly towards her in the Forbidden Library, crafting his words.

“Still, it’s been a while since we last met like this. The last time was right before leaving the Royal Capital. It’s been about ten days, right?”

“Is that really all? For Beatrice, as long as I’m in this room, I don’t care much about how time passes outside.”

“I can’t really grasp your perspective. And raise your face when you’re talking to people. I get it must be nice to see me after ten days and want to blush, but still!”

“I could make your mouth bleed right now and leave your face pale.”

Subaru couldn’t help but stifle a grin at the irritable girl’s words.

Whenever Subaru exchanged words with the guardian of the Forbidden Library, he couldn’t help but want to break her stubborn expression that she maintained with such a composure.

He jabbed fun at her, teased her actions, and further provoked her upset emotions, all while enjoying the exchange.

“Since you’re back, can we assume the recent commotion has settled down?”

“You noticed… well, that’s obvious. Emilia and Ram were searching everywhere for you. Make sure to apologize properly later.”

“Beatrice? Apologize? I can’t even imagine who or why I would do such a thing.”

Beatrice snorted, and after closing her book loudly to stand from the step ladder, she returned a thick tome to the shelf and began to reach for the next one with a stretch. Noticing her struggle with the height, Subaru stood next to her.

“Hey, it’s this one, right?”

“… It’s the one next to it. If you’re going to meddle, you should at least help me out properly.”

“You’re such an ungrateful little girl… Hey, don’t drop it. If it falls on your foot, it’s no joke; it’s heavy.”

The book pulled out was unexpectedly heavy for Subaru to even try to hold with one hand. He cautiously passed it over, and Beatrice accepted it, cradling it to her chest. Subaru glanced at the title, but his language skills didn’t permit any recognition beyond the letter “i.”

“Don’t you want to say thanks?”

“That sounds like a classic Tsundere or quiet character line, but to be honest, I think just saying ‘thank you’ at that point means the same thing.”

At the very least, the mere fact that he recognized it as a moment to be thankful showed some goodness in him. With Subaru’s remark, Beatrice narrowed her eyes in annoyance and averted her gaze, while Subaru scratched his head at her steadfast attitude.

“You don’t need to express gratitude to me ever again, but you better say it to Emilia and Ram. They were worried about leaving you behind in the mansion.”

“Why would I want them to worry…?”

“Don’t say something lame like you didn’t ask for it. Most people are born without asking to be born, and whether they want to be worried about or not, they get worried. … The latter part is just about how the people around you are good, not you.”

Needless to say, both Emilia and Ram were kind-hearted. Emilia was perfect based on her usual behavior, while Ram was a slacker in her usual actions but had depth.

However, Beatrice shook her head at Subaru’s attempt to smooth things over, turning her face away and biting her lips slightly.

“But in the end, it seems like you left the mansion. … You left Beatrice behind.”

“What? Are you seriously saying you didn’t want to be left behind? You locked yourself up in the door and distanced yourself, so it’s not a matter of inconvenience.”

“I’m a Door Walker. Don’t you dare change it to a petty, silly title by yourself. … Plus, it’s an insult to Beatrice to be thought of that way.”

Beatrice remained stubborn, not acknowledging Subaru’s words and looking in the opposite direction. Sensing her unusual unstable demeanor, Subaru frowned, feeling at a loss.

If she was already upset before getting to the main topic, he wouldn’t be able to broach what he needed to say. However, he didn’t have any magic words to uplift her mood.

“Well, fine. If you’re being that stubborn, I guess I’ll tell Emilia that you were crying tears of gratitude while repeating thank you.”

“Don’t fabricate things. It’s been ages since I’ve shed tears.”

“What? Are you embarrassed to cry or something? If you keep thinking like that since you were a kid, you’re going to find it hard to express emotions when you’re grown up. Just cry without thinking about the consequences while you’re still a child.”

“There’s depth in the words of a guy who cried on the lap of a girl he likes.”

“Can we please forget that!?”

Subaru’s dark history, which he desperately tried to conceal in a stupidly wild mood.

The moment when the floodgates of emotions burst open as he found himself in that state, felt like a complete disaster since coming to this world.

Recalling that time made his face burn with heat. That heat was as bright as the memories sparking deep in his chest.

He scratched his cheek, sealing those memories away, and glanced at Beatrice. Her consistently bored expression returned when she once again sat on the step ladder, opened the book Subaru had launched her way, and began scanning through its contents.

It was an obvious display of refusing conversation, but backing down wouldn’t justify Subaru’s visit.

“Anyway, putting aside the crying or not, I have something I want to ask. Is that okay?”

“Good or bad, it’s just your freedom to say it.”

Her response, accompanied by a soft sound of turning pages, implicitly conveyed that discussing whether she would answer was a different matter and inherently uncooperative. Nevertheless, considering she still gave him some measure of permission, Subaru nodded.

“Alright, so… you noticed the commotion outside but had no reaction, huh?”

However, what came out of Subaru’s mouth wasn’t the content he meant to discuss; it was merely a rehash of their previous conversation.

At Subaru’s words, Beatrice’s gaze lifted from the book she had been focused on. As he felt her penetrating gaze upon him, Subaru took a small breath.

“W-wait a second! While you were pretending not to care, things were going down outside! Some creepy people surrounded the mansion…”

“Stop it.”

“If I hadn’t brought back reinforcements from the Royal Capital, who knows what would have happened? And it wasn’t like I got back so smoothly…”

“Stop it already.”

“Hearing about tears and shedding them is one thing, but passing through that was a difficult journey…!”

A dry sound erupted, forcibly interrupting Subaru’s rapid-fire speech.

Looking closer, he saw the source of the sound—Beatrice had slammed the book shut. As that awkwardness settled in with Subaru, the girl turned her unyielding, piercing glare toward him.

“Get straight to the point, will you? –You coward.”

“…Ah.”

No words of denial came out.

Beatrice was right; she recognized the weakness in Subaru’s attempt to escape the questions he should be asking. Fearing the answers that he should seek, he tried to take the long way around—that weakness came to light.

“You…?”

I inhaled sharply, closed my eyes, and listened to my heartbeat.

Beyond my closed eyelids, I saw the smiling image of my dear girl.

“Do you remember Rem?”

The question transformed into sound, bursting the bubble of reality that couldn’t be undone.

—

In the world after the slaying of the White Whale, Subaru had only spoken to Beatrice once in the Forbidden Library.

He intended to exchange words to rescue her from the Witch Cult, but it had been rejected, leading instead to leaving the girl alone in the mansion.

He didn’t clearly remember everything they discussed back then. However, looking back, he noticed that there was one undeniable fact he couldn’t overlook.

Beatrice had indeed expressed concern for Rem, who was supposed to return with Subaru.

At that point, when he had returned to the mansion, his letter had turned blank.

In other words, it was proof that it occurred after Rem had been attacked by the Archbishop of Sin, yet for Beatrice to mention Rem indicates…

“Please tell me. You remember Rem, who was here in this mansion, right?”

He wanted her to remember because deep down, he believed she must.

That was not just a segway to convey his belief, but also a way to stimulate a cowardly heart that was on the verge of subsiding.

Beatrice was quietly looking at Subaru.

Her eyes were devoid of emotion, leaving Subaru unable to discern her thoughts.

She usually was a girl whose emotions were easy to read, but in this moment, he couldn’t grasp any of it. That frustration made it feel as though time had frozen, burning Subaru’s restless heart.

“Hey…”

Why won’t you say anything?

It should be a question where the answer isn’t hard to navigate, whether it’s known or unknown. Of course, there’s only one answer he wanted. Hopefully, Beatrice would be able to inform him that she knew Rem, and laugh off the ridiculousness of Subaru’s question.

To have memories devoured, names consumed, and to lose someone from the world was absurd.

Wouldn’t it be good if she understood that insanity as Subaru did and felt the same outrage about the world’s injustice? Even better if she were willing to explore the essence of the shared sentiment between herself and Subaru together.

So please say you know.

Just like Emilia, like Crusch, like Wilhelm, and like many others, don’t say you’ve forgotten Rem—don’t say that girl is gone.

I want to hear the answer. I don’t want to hear the answer. My restless heart twisted in conflicts.

Then, with hesitation, Beatrice looked at Subaru and said…

“I don’t want to answer.”

She turned away from Subaru’s piercing gaze and returned an answer that was neither “yes” nor “no.”

“Huh?” Subaru exhaled, momentarily stunned as his thoughts stumbled. Then he frantically waved his hand.

“W-wait. What do you mean you don’t want to answer? There’s only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for that question!”

“I don’t understand ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Moreover, Beatrice’s answer is the same—it’s that I don’t want to.”

“You’re not giving me an answer!”

Subaru swung his arm downward, taking a strong step closer to Beatrice.

The girl sitting on the step ladder didn’t pay attention to his sudden motion and kept her lips tightly sealed. This obstinate demeanor set Subaru’s simmering frustration ablaze, and the fire wouldn’t extinguish.

“What I want to hear from you isn’t that!”

“Why should Beatrice tell you what you want to hear when you want it? … Please keep it down. The library might get messy.”

“You…!”

Subaru charged toward Beatrice.

He intended to force her to face him, intent on grilling her as to why she’d say such a callous thing. He planned to confront the reason remained on her lips. But just then…

“——–”

The moment he reached out, Beatrice looked at Subaru.

The moment he saw a wave of emotions flicker in her eyes, completely halted Subaru’s movements. Because it was as if she…

“Your question right now is about someone consumed by ‘Gluttony,’ isn’t it?”

“—! You really…”

“Knowing about this, anyone who understands the power of Gluttony would be able to guess this—it’s common knowledge for Roswaal, your big sister, even for Shaula.”

“Ros…!?”

The unexpected name threw Subaru off-guard, causing him to choke on his own words.

For Roswaal to be aware of Gluttony’s abilities—does that mean he also remembers Rem? Or more importantly…

“How much do you all know about the Witch Cult? Roswaal must have known that if word got out about Emilia being a half-elf, the Witch Cult would move. Yet, if I hadn’t kicked it into gear, this mansion and the village would have been doomed. What’s going on?”

“……”

“There should be some measures in place. Both Rem and Crusch said so. But it feels to me like there were no measures put in at all. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have ended up so terribly…”

“I can’t gauge how far Roswaal had considered things. But… I don’t think Roswaal didn’t have any actions to take.”

Subaru furrowed his brows at Beatrice’s assertion as he tried to recall Roswaal’s motives during the battle with Petelgeuse. No matter how he searched his memory or ran his thoughts, he couldn’t find a scene where things went as such.

“It’s a misunderstanding, isn’t it? Or perhaps an overestimation. If Roswaal had done something, I shouldn’t have struggled that much…”

“If you don’t get it, I suppose no one will.”

With a sigh filled with disappointment, Beatrice expressed her dismay at Subaru’s ignorance. While he felt an irritation towards her demeanor, he realized the original topic was increasingly sketchy.

“Wait, let’s get back to the Witch Cult discussion. If you know something, I want to hear it all. The Archbishop of Sin, ‘Gluttony,’ everything. There’s so much I want to know… including this.”

Continuing to dig into what Beatrice knew, new questions arose for Subaru. If she knew, perhaps he could finally gain insights on the things that he had been left in the dark about.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the black-covered book, its cover and pages stained with dried blood from a battle against a fierce adversary just days ago.

“I know that this thing is tied to the deeper parts of the Witch Cult. I can’t read it, but with your position as the guardian of the Forbidden Library, you might have some information…”

“—The Gospel.”

Upon noticing the book in Subaru’s hand, Beatrice’s eyes widened.

She slightly trembled her rosy lips, boldly fixating her gaze on the Gospel that Subaru held. The unreadable characters inscribed on the cover captured her attention, and she expressed disbelief.

“Why… is it you of all people who has that?”

“I wouldn’t say it was a book I desperately wanted, you know. Like I said, the Witch Cult was up to no good surrounding the mansion. I got it from the ringleader—who is no longer of this world.”

“Got it from… that means.”

As Beatrice’s voice trembled, she reached out toward Subaru’s Gospel.

Despite feeling conflicted as his fingers nervously trembled, Subaru cautiously handed her the book. Once she accepted it, she traced the cover with her fingers to check the characters.

“So, the owner of this… died, did they?”

“Yeah. He died. Run over by a wheel… I killed him.”

Looking at the end result, it wasn’t as if Subaru had directly taken Petelgeuse’s life himself.

However, the cause that led to it, the resolve needed for that to happen—all of it was an unavoidable reality that connected with Subaru’s actions.

Subaru had attempted to kill Petelgeuse. His soul understood that until he took a life, he could never settle this matter.

Thus, Subaru held no doubt that he bore the ‘will’ to kill Petelgeuse.

He wasn’t saying he lacked hesitation or regretted afterward. After all, he hadn’t boasted to anyone; he wouldn’t lie to himself at least.

He wouldn’t forget having killed him, nor would he forget almost being killed.

He wouldn’t say naïve, sentimental things about living while carrying the life he took.

Petelgeuse was a being that deserved to die, and Subaru believed that wholeheartedly when he ended him.

That was all there was to it.

However, Beatrice’s reaction to Subaru’s heartfelt statement was vacant.

She quietly murmured, “I see…” and dropped her gaze back to the Gospel, still fixated on it.

“Did you leave Beatrice behind as well, Juice…?”

“—? Who are you talking about?”

“You don’t need to know that. More importantly, if you killed ‘Sloth,’ then what happened to the Witch Factor?”

“Witch… Factor…?”

At Beatrice’s question, Subaru furrowed his brow in confusion.

Beatrice’s expression shifted toward puzzlement as she squinted, attempting to discern Subaru’s emotions. Meanwhile, Subaru had no idea why she was looking at him like that. Frustration enveloped him as he clicked his tongue.

“Don’t throw around specialized terms if the informed person doesn’t know anything! What’s the Witch Factor anyway? Doesn’t sound good at all.”

“You don’t know…?! You’re really serious? Then what on earth did you kill ‘Sloth’ for? It makes no sense.”

“I was just getting rid of a fire! What are you trying to say!?”

Subaru, feeling irritated by the mismatched conversation, couldn’t take it anymore, but as Subaru became more agitated, Beatrice’s demeanor began reverting back to calmness. She pondered, placing the back of her hand against her lips, staring intently at the cover rather than looking at the inside of the received book.

“I don’t know about such things. … It’s beyond what Beatrice can decide.”

“What are you so quick to conclude—whoa!”

Shaking her head, Beatrice suddenly hurled the Gospel at Subaru.

Catching it in a rush, Subaru exhaled in relief.

“What the hell are you doing? I won’t claim it’s a dangerous book, but it’s still creepy. Handle it more carefully!”

“… It’s right for you to hold on to it. As for the Witch Factor, whether it chooses or not, eventually it will have to make a choice. If this helps you in some way, maybe even Juice will be at ease.”

“What do you mean a drink will be relieved!? You’re telling me…!”

No matter how he wracked his mind, nothing about her words made any sense. But before he could finish his sentence, Subaru felt a strange sensation behind him.

—It was the sound of space being distorted by an unnatural force, a feeling Subaru instinctively recognized. He wasn’t sure why, but…

“Are you trying to kick me out? I haven’t even heard anything yet… Do you really think I’m going to back down now!?”

“Why should I be the one to tell you the things you want to hear when you want to hear them? I’d like you to stop your selfish…acting so arrogantly.”

“Arrogant…?—Just tell me what you know! I won’t ask for anything beyond that! So, your…”

“—Beatrice is.”

Those final words seemed to pluck his heartstrings—a literal, physical force was trying to pull Subaru’s body backward.

Space warped—glancing back, the previously closed door had swung open, revealing a pitch-black expanse that was prepared to swallow Subaru.

There were no winds blowing, nor were his limbs being pulled.

Nevertheless, an unseen pressure bore down heavily from the front, and an invisible force seemed to wrap around his limbs from behind, intent on carrying him away.

—An overwhelming showcase of “Door Walking.”

“Bea… Beatrice!”

“Your body and heart are the ones trying to leave.”

“What do you—”

“The heart that doesn’t want to hear the answer, the weakness that wants to turn a blind eye from reality, the selfishness that doesn’t want to face its own sins is pulling your body away from this Forbidden Library.”

Even if he wanted to criticize her foolishness, his voice wouldn’t come out.

He was indeed frightened of hearing the answer, frightened of the reality that could come back. All of those were truths he fully recognized.

And yet…

“I am—”

“Beatrice is… not your convenient tool.”

“—!?”

“Beatrice is not here to let you ask what you want, when you want, how you want, or to say what suits your agenda.”

Subaru couldn’t find his words against Beatrice’s strained words.

It wasn’t because she had hit the nail on the head; it was that an unexpected blow struck him deep, leaving him utterly startled.

And from the emptiness born from that moment, Subaru felt his resistance fade away as he stood there.

“In the end—”

With that, Subaru was sucked back toward the door.

Once he passed through, he’d be expelled from the Forbidden Library. He just barely managed to grab the edge of the door, but he was halfway thrown out into the hallway.

Breathing out heavily, teeth clenched, Subaru looked ahead—before him stood the girl with a sorrowful face.

“Go ask Roswaal what you wish to know. —Neither your big sister nor Beatrice will speak to you.”

“… Why do you seem like you’re about to cry?”

At Subaru’s last question, Beatrice averted her gaze, refusing to respond.

Then, her outstretched fingers grasped the ones clinging to the door, wrenching them free.

He was being swept away. He was being thrown. He was being locked out.

From the door, from the Forbidden Library—from the girl named Beatrice.

“——-”

He staggered back out into the hallway as if spat out from the door.

The door that had just rejected Subaru slammed shut violently before him. Instinctively, Subaru reached his hand toward it, but it was already too late.

“That drill-shaped loli…”

Beyond the opened door was not the Forbidden Library, but a room in an unused guest area.

Glancing around the mansion, he felt no sensation that connected to the Forbidden Library through his sixth sense—today, he wouldn’t see her again.

That certainty landed squarely in Subaru’s heart.

Having heard nothing he wanted to know or learn, Subaru felt led astray by the cryptic girl’s words before being tossed out without gaining a single thing.

“What the hell? If you knew something, just share it—you stingy brat. Closing yourself off like that, are you the eldest son of the Natsuki household or what?”

Kicking the door that should still connect to the Forbidden Library, Subaru let out a long, heavy sigh.

Shaking his head, he tried to brush off the images surfacing in his mind—but ultimately, he couldn’t shake off the expression Beatrice wore when they parted.

Because at that moment, she truly looked…

“Don’t make that teary face and lock yourself away. You idiot.”

If he let himself think that he was the one who caused her to wear such a face, then he couldn’t blame her for this entire series of unfortunate events that went so terribly wrong.

 

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