—

Subaru’s desperate time-buying had already lasted for over ten minutes.

“Come on already! Why don’t you just recognize your own position and quietly kick the bucket already, huh!?”

“Do-o-o-o-oh!”

The kick that was delivered gouged the structure in a grotesquely beautiful manner, and without its support columns, the building collapsed helplessly.

Smoke enveloped the area, blocking Regulus’s view, and at that moment, Subaru was darting around the battlefield, where his makeshift traps had already been exhausted.

“Do you even have a thought to face me head-on in a dignified manner? I couldn’t care less about your relationship with that whore, but isn’t it a bit beneath a so-called knight to act like this!?”

“Say whatever you want, it doesn’t change a thing!”

“Is that so!!”

As Regulus rattled off his malicious rant, Subaru’s retort was met with a barrage of lethal sand pellets that would take his life in a heartbeat.

The moment he distanced himself from the malicious grains of sand thrown at him, the debris where Subaru had been hiding was blown away.

A brush with these would lead to a fatal injury; a single hit meant instant death.

Miraculously, Regulus’s attacks had yet to reach Subaru. Once hit, it would be over, so thanking his luck would be out of line.

“Focus! Concentrate! Concentrate—!”

Gasping for breath and wiping away sweat, Subaru flung all his nerves into evasion.

With dirt and dust staining his face, he spat out the foul-tasting saliva that had built up in his mouth.

The training he had undertaken in parkour was paying off.

Unlike the days spent training aimlessly, having a clear purpose and drive greatly impacted Subaru.

Every single day he had trained to the point of nausea in the forest near the new Roswaal Mansion had not been in vain.

“I’m just managing to toy with a guy who moves like an amateur, but still…!”

Even so, holding off one of the Witch Cult’s Archbishops was no small feat.

In terms of sheer combat ability, it could certainly be considered a noteworthy achievement for Subaru alone.

If Pristella could escape the Witch Cult’s grasp safely, they had to ensure he was celebrated generously—.

“That’s why…!”

“If I keep stalling like this, do you think you can do something about me, huh? Just because the ‘Greed’ crux of my power got a little shaken doesn’t mean you can challenge me!”

Without a moment’s break, Regulus’s destructiveness expanded. Now he showed no hesitation in unleashing as much destruction as necessary to take down Subaru.

Pristella, known for its scenic beauty, was losing its form one after another under the Witch Cult’s worst atrocities.

The stone bridge spanning the waterways was shattered, and the glass-bedecked shops were crushed. As Subaru felt an incongruous beauty in the sparkles of flying glass shards, he trusted his right foot and dashed through the realms of chaos.

Ironically, there was strength surging within that right foot.

The foot, now darkened and being eaten away by something unknown, was currently Subaru’s lifeline.

Whipping his whip, he ensnared the rain gutter of a neighboring building. Trusting that constraint, he kicked off the ground and ran along the walls, slipping past Regulus and making a face at the deadly fiend, sticking out his tongue in provocation.

“Y-you ignorant little sh*t!!”

The stones thrown from the violently swung arm traveled wide, missing Subaru as he deftly evaded.

He abandoned thoughts of counterattacking and focused solely on his escape.

The people who had perished under ‘Greed’ were brave; they perished because they were brave. It would have been better if they had just been weak, fragile, and cowardly. Surely, they wouldn’t have lost to such a man.

So, this frustration would be settled here.

For that purpose—.

“Where are you, Emilia?—Where is his heart!?”

—

“Is there anyone who resonates with this…?”

In front of the brides who had asked for her cooperation, Emilia bit her lip upon receiving the unexpected report.

The fifty-three brides exchanged glances at her question, all shaking their heads weakly.

“I’m sorry. While I truly want to escape that man’s grasp and help you, but…”

Looking down in regret was Sylphie, the blonde who was recognized as the spokesperson among the brides.

After stating that she was the most knowledgeable about the current situations among Regulus’s brides, Sylphie continued:

“I can’t believe that man would entrust us with something so important. He might call us wives or brides, but… he hasn’t treated us like that even once.”

“It’s clear that there were huge problems with Regulus, but he can’t have—’The Heart of the Lion’ entrusted to you all.”

Sylphie, who was disheartened at the lack of indications, Emilia would not let herself falter at that moment.

After all, the determination of Sylphie and the other brides to escape Regulus’s control was forged of their own will. She wouldn’t allow such a crucial first step to stumble here.

Furthermore, Emilia had unwavering faith in Subaru—

Subaru was amazing. He knew so many things she didn’t and had overcome any adversity with his knowledge and prowess. Because of that, Emilia had no doubt about his judgment in recognizing Regulus’s authority as ‘The Heart of the Lion.’

That did not signify blind dependence or abandoning rational thought.

It wasn’t as if she would raise both hands and follow along just guaranteed that it was Subaru. He could make mistakes and fail too.

But he could rectify them. The trust Emilia had in Subaru meant she’d have the powers to assist or withdraw as needed.

“Subaru believes the ‘Heart of the Lion’ is definitely entrusted to the wives…”

With a thoughtful hand on her chin, Emilia began to unveil the mystery of ‘Greed’s’ powers as Subaru had described to her.

—The power to stop an object’s time and prevent it from changing.

Initially, she thought it was unbelievable, but after hearing Subaru’s subsequent explanations, the number of agreeable aspects had only grown.

It was just unclear if it could actually be carried out.

“There’s a very mysterious force at work here.”

It was likely a kind of mysterious power transcending the idea of favor from a deity.

Unfortunately, as Emilia did not possess any such favor, she could not fully comprehend the unique omnipotence enjoyed by those blessed with it.

However, she could sense something similar from Regulus. Wasn’t his authority just the more repugnant, extreme version of such favor?

“The heart, the heart…”

The worst-case scenario for Emilia was if there truly was a genuine partner among the brides who shared a bond with Regulus.

In that case, the real bride would try to hide the heart she was entrusted with from Emilia in service of Regulus’s victory.

“———”

While Emilia was tormented by her thoughts, the brides, including Sylphie, were discussing their possible leads in varied words.

As she intently observed the serious-faced women conversing, Emilia commanded the tiny spirits present around her to pay attention for any changes in the bodies of all brides. The tiny spirits were not particularly wise to human changes and would never feel good about testing those who had requested her cooperation.

However, simply ignoring doubts due to a desire not to suspect was well beyond permissible limits.

“Umm…”

The tiny spirits had responded.

While it could not be said to be total certainty, there were no prominent reactions from the brides. Based on what Emilia could sense, it was safe to assume that there were no brides who were blatantly colluding with Regulus.

If that was the case, the possible scenarios were—.

“Huh?”

Suddenly feeling as though her hair was being tugged, Emilia quickly looked up.

Before her, a tiny spirit radiating pale blue hues swarms. It had been attached to one of the brides, almost as if it had something it wanted to convey to Emilia.

Following its trajectory with her gaze, the spirit headed toward Sylphie’s vicinity. Sylphie was desperately trying to rally the brides who had raised their voices in resistance against Regulus.

The tiny spirit danced up and down around her back, expressing something.

“Hey, can I get a moment?”

Upon Emilia’s call, Sylphie turned around with a puzzled expression. Emilia stepped closer to Sylphie and gazed intently at the tiny spirit asserting its presence at Sylphie’s chest level.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m really sorry.”

The incorporeal tiny spirit was invisible to all but Emilia in that place. Thus, the tiny spirit’s desperate appeal was comprehensible only to Emilia.

So, when Emilia suddenly thrust her hand into her chest, Sylphie widened her eyes in shock.

“Huh? Huh, huh, huh?”

“Wait, be quiet! I’m just checking now.”

“Checking? Checking what…”

Sylphie’s inquiry was drenched in surprise and crimson, which could barely be hidden.

To that, Emilia replied, her expression earnest.

“Your heartbeat.”

“—!”

“I’m a spirit user. Right now, the one I’m bonded with is resting, but I can talk to tiny spirits. I asked that tiny spirit to investigate everyone’s bodies, and yours is the only one whose heartbeat was strange.”

“My… heartbeat…?”

Sylphie gasped.

Her face expressed disbelief. It was an unavoidable shock; right after discussing the overview of ‘The Heart of the Lion,’ she was informed of an egregious issue regarding her own heart.

At this juncture, there was only one reason for it—

“Horrible… Regulus has joined his heart with those of the brides he has chosen…!”

—

“In the first place, it was all well and good for you to preach in such a lofty manner, but I can’t for the life of me comprehend where the hope comes from that your time-stalling will bear fruit. Are you seriously so thick-headed you believe you can match up against my power?”

Looking down at the bloodied Subaru, Regulus wore a triumphant smirk.

Leaning against the rubble of a fallen structure, Subaru gasped in pain, half of his face stained with fresh blood.

“Ugh…”

“You’ve been running circles around me as you pleased, and when you finally fall, it’s just so pathetically anticlimactic. Well, that’s how it should be. Considering the gap between you and me, what’s transpiring is merely the result settling where it ought to. Finally, I can stop being unnecessarily distracted by absurdities.”

Stepping forward to the fallen Subaru, Regulus crushed an inconvenient stone with his heel, showcasing that his powers were still intact.

“Do you even think about how presumptuous you are? Many have come before you, just as eager to try and bring me down. But in the end, none of them could reach me. When you wish for more than your own worth, it’s a natural law that leads to such an outcome. Do you understand?”

The Archbishop of Greed, who preached about selflessness, scorned those consumed by excessive desire.

Desire breeds senseless conflict, desire breeds insatiable hunger, and desire breeds unparalleled cruelty.

That’s precisely why selflessness is precious.

To wish for clear poverty and impose virtue upon oneself is the highest ideal.

“They could have been fine if they were content with what they had, but desiring beyond their measure leads to ruin. None of them learn a thing. You wretched creatures are utterly hopeless.”

In a tone sounding almost lamenting, Regulus tousled his white hair, as if to bemoan tragedies while shaking his head.

Yet, it was clear that the sorrow embedded in his voice was genuine. At the very least, Regulus sincerely lamented the foolishness of Subaru and others, mourning it.

Unbeknownst to him, that was the voice of a lonely omnipotent being.

“B-before I die… your… power…”

“Huh? Oh, you mean what they call a ‘parting gift’? It’s surprisingly old-fashioned of you to know such a phrase. Is that the sum of all the meaningless knowledge you’ve accumulated reaching me then?”

Regulus laughed at Subaru, who was barely clinging to life, imploring at least to confirm his understanding of the powers at stake. An unfortunate existence stripped of its power to escape, left only to be crushed.

“Well then, I’ll give you something, as a reward for your pitiful efforts at time-stalling. I’ll tell you that everything you and that girl are looking for is indeed entrusted to the brides.”

“But which bride holds the heart is something neither I nor the brides realize. Rights are equal, love is divided equally, and responsibilities weighed fairly.”

As the stunned Subaru registered that, Regulus shrugged, saying, “Because that’s how it is, right?”

“Since I have multiple wives, it’s only natural to treat them all equally. It’s only because I can execute even the simplest calculations regarding that rightfully that I’m allowed to enforce them. That means I’m constantly proving my love for them at the risk of my life.”

“What does it mean for a bride to be unaware of her heart being held?”

“It’s not that complicated. After all, who’s constantly aware of their own heartbeat every day?”

That cruelly jubilant smile on Regulus’s face brought realization to Subaru.

The method Regulus used to hide his heart, that deceitful strategy.

It was both simple and effective, and above all, utterly impossible to defend against.

“The heart of the brides, merged with his own…!”

“The obligation of a husband includes managing his wife’s assets. But you see, I’m a selfless man. I don’t own any of the worthless possessions people like you stockpile. So what I have them carry is my very existence… beautiful, wholesome marital love, wouldn’t you say?”

—Repugnant.

Regulus’s authority was maliciously conscious. Without any kind of malicious intent, with no qualms or restrictions, he conducted himself believing he was acting naturally.

Having sent Emilia off to the Church, Subaru had constructed many hypotheses regarding the way ‘The Heart of the Lion’ was concealed. However, he had never expected this particular pattern.

That said, it wasn’t as if an answer to break it didn’t exist—.

“Logically speaking… there’s no way Emilia can achieve it.”

If what Regulus had conveyed in his grandiose monologue was the entirety of ‘The Heart of the Lion’s’ powers, then a method to break it was conceivable. Should Subaru convey this to Emilia, considering her capabilities, it would certainly be within reach.

The question wasn’t whether it could be done, but whether it should be done.

—The issue of taking life and death.

“Huh? Hey, you…”

Regulus was taken aback by Subaru, who gritted his teeth and stood up, glaring at him with malice.

Having been caught in the vortex of the city’s collapse, and now not even partly dead, Subaru stood, brushing off the dirt from his knees. Noticing Regulus’s seemingly puzzled glance, Subaru arched an eyebrow as if recognizing something.

“Feigning death… nah, not that. Just pretending to be on the verge of death. I got a little cut on my forehead from that stone that flew in.”

By smearing blood across his face and pretending to be in pain, it led perfectly to that outcome. With Regulus firmly within the palm of his hand, Subaru flashed a grin.

“I believed in you. Once you found an enemy on the brink of death, you’d inevitably be the smug idiot who blabbers away.”

“—!!”

“Here I go!”

With a jump, Regulus shot forward directly towards Subaru.

The speed was blindingly quick, a marked difference from the amateurish movements of before. In that rare moment, he displayed an acceleration that even Reinhardt would marvel at.

However, the trick behind that vanished as quickly as his power was laid bare.

“Fuh-!”

Dynamically exploding his right leg, Subaru launched himself effortlessly to the left. Regulus’s aim of launching Subaru’s body was thwarted by the flaw of ‘flying directly.’

Essentially, Regulus’s brief superhuman transformation was a twisted application of time-stopping on his body. His physical time was severed from the world, unaffected and isolated. Delving into its essence, he was freed from gravity, air resistance, and inertia.

The reason he didn’t constantly execute it was likely due to some restriction—.

“—Dammit, you!”

“What I want to scream about is tenfold—! I have to tell Emilia…”

He needed to convey the whereabouts of Regulus’s heart, that answer.

He had to communicate and then choose. That method—.

To save the city, for Emilia.

“Emilia…”

Faced with the enraged Regulus, Subaru glanced toward the Church, where Emilia should be.

Amidst the collapsed cityscape, the half-torn church stood resilient against Regulus’s remnants.

—In that moment, the place became enshrouded in a ghostly, pale light.

—

The integration of the brides’ hearts with Regulus’s heart.

Emilia’s conclusion sent ripples of shock among the brides present. Most prominently, Sylphie, who had just detected her heartbeat via Emilia, realized that she was currently sharing the rhythm of Regulus’s heart.

“W-was my heart…?”

Upon Emilia letting go of her hand, Sylphie staggered back, her face drained of color. The woman behind her worriedly supported her back.

“Don’t touch me!”

The next moment, Sylphie’s voice broke as she forcefully shook off her arms.

Swaying to warn the brides away, she then turned her eyes toward Emilia.

“Is that for sure?”

“…The tiny spirits have indicated something unnatural. I noticed something strange with your heartbeat as well. They overlap; I can hear both.”

“—”

Sylphie placed her hand over her chest, shutting her eyes to check Emilia’s words. The rapidity, weight, and interval of her heartbeat took her breath away, so she heavily sighed.

“So that’s it … how far will we trample on a person’s heart before we’re satisfied… that man…!”

“Wait, what are you doing!?”

Wearing an incredibly dry smile, Sylphie headed for the rear of the church. The church had been partially destroyed by Reinhardt’s onslaught, with many shards of decorative glass scattered across the stained-glass windows.

Sylphie picked up a piece of glass and turned around.

“Can’t you see? That man’s intentions. He forces his weakness onto people and aims to coerce them into making a decision.”

“Decision… you don’t mean to—”

“If I try to stop that guy’s heart, then I have to stop my own heart being kept by him. In his own words, ‘Not even death can separate a couple,’ perhaps?”

Tinkering with the shard, Sylphie’s voice turned nonchalant. Emilia understood its meaning at that moment, as well as the seriousness of Sylphie’s resolve against Regulus’s malice.

“Don’t give up on your own, Emilia! There’s definitely something, there has to be a way…”

“Do you genuinely think there can be any conveniently timed way? With our hearts merged, how could I stop his heart without stopping my own… besides…”

“Don’t you dare relinquish hope! If we allow that, what was the purpose of—why did I even leave the forest…!”

Another sacrifice would occur.

Due to Emilia’s powerlessness and ignorance, sacrifices would emerge again right before her eyes—just like with everyone from the forest, just like Fortuna and Juice. Everyone but Emilia using their lives to fill in the gaps she couldn’t reach.

Having been pulled away by that man, months spent in misery:

“I needed to try my hardest to avoid incurring that man’s wrath. No matter how vile the acts he committed went overlooked, I thought to somehow protect the newly welcomed brides… I wanted to defend them just like I was defended, as those who stood before me did.”

The truth behind Sylphie’s shared responsibility as the representative of the brides, taking the initiative over and over, was finally revealed.

She had been in that position—the one standing at the forefront for women snatched away by Regulus’s volatility. That will had been inherited by Sylphie, forming the current group of brides.

“Even if our hearts were sullied by that man, he refrained from laying a hand on our bodies. If it had been otherwise, we couldn’t have endured. Consequently, we’ve borne and borne the man’s words, voice, and deeds until today… and yet!”

Hesitating upon reaching that point, Sylphie raised her face.

Her eyes were welling with tears. There was an anger so hot it seemed about to ignite those very tears.

“That man’s hand had sullied even my own body! I thought I was at least managing to protect myself, but in truth, I had nothing! We have always been slaves to that man!”

Screaming with tears, blood coursed through Sylphie’s hand. The shard clenched tightly lacerated her palm, and she grimaced in pain but stretched her lips lovingly into a gentle smile.

“Being a damaged woman is unthinkable, so he’d kill us at the smallest of cuts. This wound… is my freedom.”

“——”

“It’s not your fault. I’m grateful to you. For the recompense against that man in these past days, there’s no better method than this.”

With a smile directed at Emilia, Sylphie then turned to the other brides—those who were herself, in a sense.

Lifting the shard to her right hand and placing her left hand upon her chest.

“Surely, if I die, my heart will move somewhere else. It’s all but decided. That man can’t shower favoritism on just me, nor could he possibly obsess over some nonsensical fixation.”

“…I suppose that’s true.”

Someone among the brides piped up softly.

One who stepped forth from the group, answering in agreement with Sylphie’s words was a long-haired woman with chestnut brown locks.

“There were countless times I thought about dying. Living like this, calling it life felt insufferable. I figured death would bring me back to my loved ones in the afterlife…”

“But I couldn’t, because I didn’t want to die. Even if dying freed me from anguish, I felt nothing afterward.”

“But if death means this life will retaliate against that man… then it wouldn’t be in vain to die…”

Each bride began to step forward, picking up pieces of glass.

With eyes as if holding their hopes in the sharp edges, they finally discovered purpose regarding the use of their lives, spurred on by Emilia’s words.

“Thank you. I’m truly grateful to you. —It’s guaranteed that there are no brides outside of these we have right here. I can absolutely confirm that much. So, please…”

“——”

“Please deliver our fury against that man. —It’s only you, the one who’ve been asked and yet could refuse, that we can ask for.”

Sylphie’s fervent plea was woven with a gentle tone.

All the brides gripped the shattered glass—an emblem of their broken ties to matrimony—and chose their ending.

With the sharp tip directed toward her tender neck, they prepared to impale themselves en masse—

“Wait.”

That desperate act was stopped by a single word from Emilia.

Having kept her silence until now, Emilia’s voice was filled with potent strength, both mentally and physically.

From the ground, icy hands emerged, gripping the brides’ wrists. The motions they made to pierce themselves were thwarted, preventing their suicides.

Emilia’s actions widened Sylphie’s eyes, leading her to tremble her lips violently.

“Please, you must understand! Your feelings… I appreciate them. But this is the only way…”

If they were to make their own deaths, it wouldn’t end well.

Death was the only means to strike back against that man—Regulus.

Such was the conclusion of Sylphie and the other brides.

Emilia could understand the painful answer they had reached to stop their own hearts. She worked and worked to formulate a counteraction, thinking and thinking.

Thus—.

“I’m sorry. That’s not it.”

“Huh…?”

“If it’s Subaru, he could find some idea… But I’m not clever enough, and no matter how hard I think, I can’t come up with anything… So…”

The moment Emilia voiced her sentiments, bluish light began to swirl around her.

Acquiring mana, that shimmering light transformed into visible tiny spirits. Emerging in vast numbers, they filled the collapsed buildings and created a spectacle of otherworldly beauty that left Sylphie and the others in awe.

“I will stop your heart, each of you. —Doing that, even if you try to dig your throats with such shards, you won’t easily find relief.”

As Emilia raised her hands, the tiny spirits began to glitter, and blue snow cascaded into the church.

The snow gently fell upon the brides, blanketing them lightly, and contact with their pale skin transformed it into glistening white crystals.

It was the most gentle and cruel kind of magic Emilia could wield.

“—I’m sorry. I can only do this much.”

“Don’t apologize.”

Having grasped Emilia’s intentions, Sylphie exhaled softly.

The hearts of the brides beat as one. They looked at Emilia, whose expression had stiffened, and they spoke in unison.

“Thank you.”

“—!”

Then, the bluish aurora enveloped the church—.

—

Spikes of ice reached dizzying heights, freezing the churchcraft.

The atmosphere screamed as if it creaked, and the sky turned white and lifeless, filled with how much sorrow coiled within that structure.

Only the creator of this spectacle would truly understand.

“…Emilia.”

The surging icy vortex teeming with immense mana was a scene conjured wholly by Emilia.

To certainly destroy ‘The Heart of the Lion’ meant seizing the life of a bride merged with the heart itself. Subaru had conceived the method. Yet, he had been unable to fathom any other approach.

In truth, he was resigned to believing that Emilia could not even reach this conclusion.

However, upon witnessing this sight, the answers became clear.

—Emilia had chosen. That was the answer.

“Hey, hey. Isn’t this just a bit…?”

Regulus, staring toward the same spot as Subaru, grimaced as he envisioned the aftermath of that ice pillar. He surely understood that in that very location stood his brides. He comprehended the implications of such a scene.

So—

“You! Was this what you wanted? Is this what a human does?! Selfishly seizing that which they love dearly! Just how cruel must one become to perform such an act—!?”

Stamping his feet and screaming at the blood-smeared Subaru, Regulus lost it.

With every stomp of his shoes, the cobblestones beneath him crumbled, distorting the ground to an extent that it felt as though the city itself was tilting. Regulus took a bold step forward, pointing his finger accusingly at Subaru.

“Are you satisfied? Are you happy with this?! To murder those innocent wives just to kill me, and all in a glee that makes your humanity—”

Regulus’s body was blasted away, overflowing with a flurry of hateful words.

The culprit was a spear of ice unleashed by a girl emerging from the church’s entrance across the street.

With a formidable intensity and velocity, the ice spear struck Regulus repeatedly, sending his body flying like a puppet. Even mid-air, several more spears were in pursuit of him.

The momentum didn’t waver; Regulus’s body was flung into the waterway, which erupted with an enormous sound as it turned into ice, forming a statue of Regulus.

“—That right there, think of it like a severing of ties sent from your brides.”

Emilia, her silvery hair flowing, returned to the battlefield with her spirit alight amidst the frostbitten streets.

She glanced towards the collapsed cityscape and then to Subaru, casting a concerned look at his injured state, her purple-blue eyes narrowing.

“Subaru, what happened to you…?”

“I’m fine! Just got a wide cut, so it’s bleeding more than it seems. But the church… the brides are—”

“…They all want to defeat Regulus. So that…”

With her gaze lowered, Emilia fleetingly focused on the frozen church.

With just that reaction, it was apparent that the resolution Emilia had chosen wasn’t uniquely hers. The weight of such choices was something Subaru had to bear as well.

“But, still, ‘The Heart of the Lion’ should be weakened now. His invincibility’s trickery has run dry…”

“No, it doesn’t seem that simple.”

“Huh?”

As Subaru began to analyze the results born from their choices, Emilia slowly shook her head.

Before he could register surprise, the ice statue in the waterway began to crack.

With widening fissures, the splits expanded, extending even to the stream that had been blocked. The collapse united the waterway and the street, triggering an oncoming rush of water that began to inundate Subaru and Emilia’s feet.

“Truly laughably presumptuous, undeniably lowly, exasperatingly incapable, shockingly brazen… far too base…!”

Splitting the incoming torrents, a fiend emerged untouched by the rain.

His pristine white tuxedo remained unstained, his white hair unruffled by the wind, the face devoid of a single scratch or even a bead of sweat; his very existence was a surreal dream—nay, a nightmare come to life.

“So what’s your next move? How do you plan to take responsibility for this? After arguing so pompously, blabbering away, how would you plan to redeem yourself from this disaster where every single effort has met with misfortune, leaving only casualties?!”

The enraged Regulus exhibited the continued effects of ‘The Heart of the Lion.’

There was absolutely no sign that Emilia’s fierce assault had inflicted damage upon him.

“That’s impossible! The powers of ‘The Heart of the Lion,’ you’ve yapped on about it… There’s no way someone like you has the intellect to back up such grandstanding!”

“Is that your way of saying I’m being overly kind to just ignore something so outrageous? Understand this: It’s the minimum standard of manners for a human being to know not to infringe upon another’s heart! Who on earth gives anyone the right to look down on someone? Why can’t you manage such a simple-minded task? Are you devoid of both heart and intellect?”

His words unintentionally turned provocative toward Subaru, and Regulus met him with a condescending grin, knocking on his own head with his fingers.

“Most likely, that floozy over there just miscounted, didn’t she? It’ll go without saying that she can’t even recall how many lives were stolen from her; that’s the mindset of a true butcher. How troubling.”

“Who the hell do you think you are to say that…”

“Don’t shift the subject. What I’ve done has nothing to do with that woman being inhuman. Don’t run from your crimes. Don’t turn a blind eye. Shifting blame while criticizing others is absolutely shameful for a human being.”

How persistently fueled by twisted rage, Regulus burned himself while denouncing others around him.

In his mind, he remained unaffected by the utter absurdity of it all.

20understand at what point his words bore contradictions.

Conversing with Regulus sapped one’s sanity. Facing the Archbishop of Sin felt so wrong as to lead one to the brink of insanity.

“But… Damn it, this has thrown me off.”

Even if every substitute candidate for Regulus’s heart was eliminated, his invincibility remained intact.

It should have been logically sound. During this life-risking provocation, Subaru grasped that Regulus was not smart enough to orchestrate something so deftly through his words and actions.

Regulus lacked the ability to deceive others or manipulate with mere words.

He was wholly devoid of empathy. In his realm, only he existed. Marital relations were a mere charade, utterances trivialized, battles amateur—he was pure evil. Regulus was truly the embodiment of a ‘petty king.’

“Fifty-three…”

As Subaru trembled, Emilia suddenly murmured.

She had shown no response to the vile assertions and rancor flowing from Regulus up until now. Just a single phrase escaped her lips.

“Huh? What? What did you just say?”

“There are fifty-three. The number of those poor women forcibly yoked beside you. Incorrectly counted? That wouldn’t happen. I never miscount lives.”

“Hmmm. And so? So what are you trying to say?”

Regulus feigningly brushed aside Emilia’s calm correction, mockingly placing his fingers in his ears, an overtly derisive attitude.

Even Subaru, known for his provocations, would’ve felt compelled like applauding her spiteful actions. However, Emilia turned towards Subaru and shook her head at the sound of his incredulous gasp.

“You’re fine, Subaru. I understand now. I already know everything.”

“I can’t… understand…?”

“And I’m really angry now. I won’t show any compassion anymore.”

Caught off guard by her sudden demeanor, Subaru thus observed her quietly, her soft features blanketed by an emotionless veneer, her voice lowered.

As if reinforcing that frozen expression, Emilia looked down at her heart.

Then she spoke.

“Regulus’s heart is right here—now, in my chest.”

“`

 

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