When the “Cloud Dragon” dove into the Imperial Capital with Madelin in tow, Emilia fell behind her pursuer, Cecilis, and made the decision to hide within the city herself.

“You there! Take this child and step back! I’ve frozen her limbs tight so she won’t thrash about; just carry her carefully!”

At that moment, she did not forget to entrust the half-frozen Madelin to the rebels who were watching quietly.

Frozen solid, Madelin showed no signs of waking up, and with her limbs frozen firmly, the chances of her causing a ruckus in the main camp were minimized.

“…What an incredibly ominous atmosphere.”

After leaving Madelin behind, Emilia created an ice staircase to climb over the city walls, sensing a foreboding spread throughout the Imperial Capital.

The air itself shouldn’t change between the inside and outside of the walls, but there was undoubtedly a prickly sensation on her skin, tightening Emilia’s heart.

However, she couldn’t let that prickly feeling win; she had to keep pushing forward.

“Mezoleia and Cecilis both went toward the castle.”

If it weren’t for Cecilis stepping in during her battle with the “Cloud Dragon,” Emilia would have faced utter defeat. Thanks to Cecilis, she remained energetic, but the fact that she had almost lost weighed heavily on her.

“Everyone went through so much trouble to come all the way to Volakia for me.”

Of course, everyone was just as worried about Subaru and Rem who had been thrown away as she was. If she brought it up now, no one would blame Emilia alone.

Still, Emilia had to bear the responsibility as the highest-ranking member of their faction.

She needed to recognize the greatness of her backing Roswaal and the different quality of greatness that came with everyone working hard to fulfill her wishes.

That’s precisely why—

“I have to do my utmost for what I said I could do.”

As she finally entered the streets of the Imperial Capital after climbing over the tall walls, the scenery of the city unfolded before her.

The atmosphere was quite different from that of the Lugnica Kingdom, but as expected of a capital city of a great nation, the orderly and beautiful buildings, along with the functional city planning, were apparent even to Emilia.

Surely, the Emperor of the Empire had meticulously envisioned a future and worked hard to improve this city and country.

“Even with all that effort, it ended up like this…”

The impression from the streets of the Imperial Capital was vastly different from the grim reality.

Regardless of the Emperor’s intentions in managing the Empire, a part of the Imperial citizens had responded with this rebellion, and Emilia found herself on that side as well.

While it could be described as a result of circumstance, Emilia had not joined without thought; she had listened, discussed with her comrades, and made her decision.

Of course, she wished it wouldn’t end up being a matter of taking the Emperor’s life, as many rebels wished for, but she believed it would be best to secure the Emperor and negotiate with Abel.

However, Emilia’s wishes would soon be betrayed in a way she never anticipated—due to an unusual occurrence in the Imperial Capital.

“…What?”

In the distance, near the glamorous castle known as the Crystal Palace, a colossal figure clashed with the “Cloud Dragon,” which had taken to the skies above the battlefield.

The clash of such large entities escalated the danger of the Imperial Capital’s battle, but what astonished her even more was something else entirely.

—At the feet of the Crystal Palace, where a fierce battle was unfolding, ghastly figures began to surge forth, attacking the fleeing citizens scattered throughout the city.

“No way…”

The moment Emilia laid eyes on their presence, a chill shot up her spine.

It wasn’t merely a physiological aversion; Emilia, as a spirit mage, sensed an instinctual rejection towards those unnatural beings.

Spirits were natural entities, born of the world’s desires.

In contrast, those causing her chills were aberrations—impure entities the world did not recognize, as Emilia intuited.

At the same time, she realized that, despite being a painful and sorrowful conflict thus far, the internal strife of the Empire had now shifted into a fierce struggle for survival against those who were not human.

“――――”

The moment she came to this realization, the meaning of the battlefield transformed within Emilia.

In order to save more lives, she lifted her arms and began to construct ice staircases throughout the reach of the star-shaped walls surrounding the Imperial City, creating multiple escape routes.

“Everyone! Run toward the wall! Even if you can’t reach the gate, you can escape from there!”

Shouting with a loud voice, Emilia descended from the city walls into the streets below.

Just then, ghastly figures emerged from the ground as if to reach for her, and Emilia ruthlessly slashed at them with icy blades.

“You all must have your own objectives, but…”

Seeing them attack indiscriminately without negotiation, Emilia couldn’t persuade them to engage in a dialogue.

The ones standing in her way were dressed in Imperial colors, and as they took hit after hit from Emilia’s attacks, their bodies shattered like pottery before collapsing. However, those shattered bodies quickly began to reform, reverting to their original state, making it impossible to defeat them completely.

“If that’s the case—”

Emilia’s courage wouldn’t allow her to back down now that the odds were against her.

Instead of trying to shatter the beings that kept getting up again, she redirected her efforts to encase them in ice.

“Take that! Hya! Yatta yatta yatta!”

One by one, the “enemies” that surged forth met Emilia’s relentless assault as she kicked off walls and the ground, navigating through the streets of the Imperial Capital in a whirlwind of movement.

The “enemies” struck by Emilia and encased in ice couldn’t heal their injuries as expected. However, some of them began to shatter their frozen limbs to overwrite their regeneration.

“Then I’ll force you to stop that kind of behavior!”

If the enemy responded, Emilia would surpass that response.

If freezing a part of their bodies didn’t work, she’d attack them by freezing their entire being. Of course, that would require greater force per enemy, but that couldn’t be helped.

The lack of effort would be compensated with willpower and determination as Emilia continued to dominate the area.

“Come on, hurry! While there’s no interference, escape, escape!”

Marking the streets she conquered with ice, she guided the lagging citizens of the Imperial Capital toward their escape routes. Meanwhile, she ran against the crowd of people heading toward the walls, pushing deeper into the city.

“Someone is up to no good like this…!”

The “enemies” appearing one after another were the result of some manipulated natural phenomenon.

In other words, something had been set in motion by someone’s will, whether it was magic or curses. If there was a sorcerer behind this, they had to be stopped for a fundamental solution.

There were limits to how much Emilia could freeze.

Fortunately, as someone unusually stocked with mana, Emilia still had the energy to move, but with the battle against Madelin, Mezoleia’s inclusion, and the construction of ice staircases to and from the walls, she could feel the fatigue setting in from fighting wave after wave of “enemy.”

“I should have been just a bit healthier than others…”

Feeling pathetic for her lack of strength, Emilia ran up the streets of the Imperial Capital.

If she headed straight toward the Crystal Palace, she could move faster, but she had to protect the fleeing people attacked by the “enemies” along the way. With her efforts to assist, that limited her speed.

While she was deep in thought, she spotted a different group struggling to avoid the “enemies” in the street—

“I’m creating a path now!”

As four “enemies” turned their backs, potentially obstructing a group from reaching the street, Emilia leaped from the roof of a building and, before the four could turn around, launched a strike of icy blades.

“――――”

The pale, glowing ice sword cleaved through the air, turning the four “enemies” struck by its arc into ice statues.

Emilia made sure their shocked faces were firmly frozen before returning the ice sword to mana and turning back into the shadows of the street.

“You’re all good! If you follow this trail of ice, you’ll find your way out!”

“Ah, thank you! You’ve saved us!”

Upon calling out, a voice responded from beyond the shadow.

In response to the words of gratitude, Emilia raised her hand, thinking of how the people escaping through would find a way across the street without hassle, and then resume heading toward the center when they could.

Just then, Emilia’s attention was grabbed by—

“W-wait, there are a lot of children…”

She widened her eyes in surprise, seeing nearly twenty people emerging from the shadow of the street, most of whom appeared to be around ten years old, all with black hair.

Since black hair was rare, it was quite a peculiar group, causing Emilia’s eyes to blink in surprise.

Many of their faces did not resemble each other enough to believe they were family.

Then, one of the few adults among them waved at Emilia.

“Hey there! You’ve been a great help! You see, we’ve been so busy hiding that we nearly decided to have me act as bait.”

“Is that so? Well, it’s good you didn’t have to do that. It should be safe from here on out, so let’s not rush and work together!”

“Got it! Thank you so much, miss! All right, lady! Kachua!”

“D-don’t call me out loudly like that! It’d be bad if they come back…!”

The young man with blonde hair laughed cheerfully, and the woman in the back responded while lowering her gaze from her wheelchair. Emilia was slightly taken aback to see her.

“This is the first time I’ve seen one aside from the one Subaru made.”

The wheelchair was handy for transporting those with disabilities, but it was a rare sight. Emilia only knew of the real one because Subaru had designed and built it specifically for the girl who was constantly asleep.

Now that Subaru and Rem had been thrown away, that wheelchair was left unused at Roswaal’s Mansion—

“Kachua, please don’t be so angry. I understand it’s unsettling to be away from your fiancé…”

“D-don’t say unnecessary things! You’re worried about those little ones, too, aren’t you? Don’t just direct it all at me!”

“I didn’t mean it that way!”

Caught up in watching the woman in the wheelchair, Emilia was late to notice the figure standing behind her, pushing it.

The girl with blue hair was the one pushing the wheelchair—

“—Rem?”

“――――”

Emilia’s lips accidentally formed the name, and her heart skipped as she locked eyes with the girl who jolted up in surprise.

The girl with wide eyes stared back at Emilia, who was intently confirming the familiar face. It was the first time she saw the girl with her eyes open, yet she resembled someone Emilia knew well.

That made sense; she had heard they were twins—specifically, from Emilia’s reliable knight.

“Do you know me?”

With a furrowed brow, the girl—Rem, regarded Emilia suspiciously.

Emilia gasped at her inquiry, with one hand on her chest, as the woman in the wheelchair oscillated between glancing at both Emilia and Rem.

Then—

“A-are you another acquaintance of hers? Just how many people are looking for you… and whoa!”

“Rem!”

Emilia interrupted the woman’s mutterings with a determined stride, crossing the distance to take Rem’s hand.

Surprised, Rem looked wide-eyed at Emilia, but there was no time to dwell on it as her gaze turned moist at the sight of Rem right before her.

“You’re awake… Rem, you’re awake! This is amazing! We need to let Ram and Subaru know right away!”

“W-wait, who are you…?”

“Right, Ram sent a message saying to meet outside; I wonder if they’re already there? Ugh! Subaru is lost at a time like this… and then… um…”

“Please, listen to me!”

Emilia’s mind began to unravel from the unexpected event, and Rem’s grasp on her hand snapped her attention back.

Holding Rem’s hand, she glared angrily at her, “Are you someone who knows me as ‘Rem’… as in, the old me?”

“Uh, well, that’s kind of complicated. I don’t remember when you were awake either. So it’s a bit bizarre, but it feels like we’re meeting for the first time,” Emilia admitted.

“I-I don’t understand…”

“Well, I’m not the best at explanations, so I’m also concerned about whether I can articulate it properly…”

As Emilia struggled to find the right words in the face of Rem’s confusion, she felt a sense of pleasure that she was speaking with the awake Rem but was also aware that she was Ram’s sister and someone who had been asleep for over a year. Besides, she had lost her “memory” due to the Archbishop of Gluttony.

Emilia trusted Subaru’s words and Ram’s near resemblance to believe it was all true, yet she felt disconnected from that “memory.”

However, there was something she did know about Rem—

“Rem, do you, perhaps, not remember before you woke up?”

“…I don’t really feel much reality in that expression of ‘before and after waking up,’ but yes, that’s correct.”

“…I see. So it’s true.”

There was a glimmer of hope that maybe the awakened Rem had memories of the time spent with Emilia, and she might speak of their past relationship.

Unfortunately, that hope was dashed.

“But there’s no need to worry at all! You might be feeling really confused and anxious right now, but I’ll help you, and Ram and Subaru will be there for you!”

“…What are you to me?”

“If we’re strictly talking about our relationship, I guess it would be the guest and the maid. However, I don’t see it just like that with Ram, so I’d like to share more than that with you as well.”

“――――”

“When trouble arises, I want to lend a helping hand, when you’re troubled, we’ll ponder together, and when things get tough, we’ll push through side by side… Is that kind of relationship a no-go?”

When asked what she was to Rem, Emilia struggled to even comprehend it.

Their relationship had crumbled to zero, and now she had to rebuild it from scratch. So, she could only share her aspirations for how she wanted to rebuild their bond.

“I want us to get along, and to strive together!”

That was Emilia’s honest thought and her outlook for the future.

“――――”

After hearing Emilia’s resolution, Rem’s eyes widened, her lips twitching silently in response.

Words didn’t come easy for her, and as she wrestled to form her thoughts, time stretched, leaving them in a tense moment—

“Lady, I think she’s on your side,” a voice cut through this tension.

“Flopp-san…”

“As a merchant, I’ve encountered many people, but someone who can speak so straightforwardly like this is truly precious. You can surely trust her,” Flopp, the blonde youth, said cheerfully.

Hearing his affirmation, Rem knitted her brows and turned her gaze back to Emilia, who stood her ground and caught Rem’s stare head-on.

Feeling the pressure, Rem released a small sigh.

“…I think I can understand that you know me, and that you bear no malice.”

Rem hesitated but spoke, which caused a lump to form in Emilia’s throat. With wide, surprised eyes, Rem narrowed her pale blue gaze.

“Um, you mentioned someone named Subaru earlier…”

“Yes! Subaru is someone who cares a lot about you and has been holding you close in his heart…”

“—If that’s true…”

As Emilia spoke, Rem’s gaze dropped as she looked toward the alley—the direction from which she and her group had emerged. Her expression seemed to drift back through their path.

As Emilia pondered this, her heart raced. “Could it be that you were with Subaru? Is he okay? Isn’t he getting reckless?”

“So you see him that way; he can be quite reckless…”

“He’s definitely that kind of struggling kid! Oh! That reminds me…”

“What?”

“My name is Emilia, just plain Emilia. If you’ve forgotten, I need to properly introduce myself, right?”

While Emilia remembered Rem’s name, Rem didn’t know who Emilia was, so she needed to share it for her to call her name.

Upon hearing her introduction, Rem widened her eyes slightly before saying, “Emilia-san…”

“That’s right! So, Rem, is Subaru with you over there?”

“That’s not wrong, but…”

Rem hesitated at her answer, and Emilia frowned at the hint of gloom on Rem’s face.

Given the current state of the Imperial Capital and seeing Rem, Flopp, and the woman in the wheelchair moving only with the children, it didn’t seem very “Subaru-like” for him to be going off alone.

Yet, the fact that Subaru and Rem were separated meant—

“He’s definitely getting reckless again… I have to go help him!”

“Given how quickly you grasped the situation, I see you really know him well…”

“You bet! He has this habit of trying to look cool, making it hard for me not to worry!”

“So he really is that kind of person…”

Rem nodded along with Emilia’s assessment of Subaru.

It thrilled Emilia to talk with Rem like this, but the urgency of the situation prevented further conversation.

This impulsive feeling grew even more when—

“—What!? What’s happening!?”

Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed from a distance, startling the woman in the wheelchair, who looked around nervously.

It was hard to see from her angle, but from where Emilia stood, a red pillar of fire erupted in the distance, followed by a plume of black smoke.

It was a massive explosion.

The atmosphere was too placid, so it didn’t seem like it was caused by any magic. Perhaps it was ignited by a magical stone.

“That way…”

“Could it be the direction where Subaru is?”

“—Yes.”

Looking toward the source of the explosion, Rem was momentarily stunned by Emilia’s words as she nodded.

Suddenly, Emilia felt that explosion could only be tied to Subaru. She wanted to rush there and reunite with him.

Yet, leaving Rem behind weighed heavily on her, and thinking about Ram and Subaru’s feelings made it difficult. Emilia felt overwhelmed by wanting to do everything at once.

“…Uh, are you headed toward the explosion? If that’s the case, you should take this child with you. She’ll be helpful.”

“Huh?”

“Kachua-san?”

The wheelchair woman—Kachua, who had been startled by the explosion, interrupted Emilia’s confusion.

While stammering and shifting her gaze between Emilia and Rem, she continued, “Look, you can use healing magic, right? With that, it seems like it would be okay for them to act recklessly. Plus… you keep glancing over.”

“…I think you’ve been the one glancing over.”

“It’s fine on my end! Todd, that brat, is the issue. He’ll always come back with that casual face no matter what happens. But the children you know might not be as durable as him.”

“But…”

Kachua’s hesitant yet blunt remarks stemmed from her genuine concern for Rem. It touched Rem who struggled to show agreement as a wavering expression played across her face.

Kachua raised her voice, “Just go already!”

“From here on, just leave this to her—look, she’s… um, what’s with those silver hair and long ears? Bad omen.”

“Ah, if you mention that, it might cause trouble, so don’t look at them for now.”

Emilia raised both hands up to hide her long ears; knowing she was half-elf might scare off others in the Empire.

Watching Emilia’s actions with skepticism, Kachua turned her gaze back to Rem.

“Don’t worry too much about me. I’ll have this scruffy pretty boy take me away. You need to focus on what you want to do…”

“――――”

“If possible, check up on Todd to see if he’s messing things up. That’s all I’m asking! Now, don’t dawdle…”

While saying that, she turned the wheels of her wheelchair and distanced herself from Rem. Rem let out a small gasp in response to Kachua’s decision.

But after tightly closing her eyes for a moment—

“Flopp, can I leave Kachua to you?”

“Oh, I’ll take good care of her! Come on; let’s endure these last moments together with our fake prince buddies!”

“Yes. —Kachua, thank you.”

Rem deeply bowed to Flopp, who had confidently taken charge. After a final round of gratitude, Kachua turned her cheeks slightly red, exclaiming, “Hmph!” while looking away.

Seeing that touching exchange between Rem and Kachua made Emilia smile.

“Once we get out of here, tell me all about what you’ve been through, Rem. I, Ram, Subaru, and everyone are super eager to hear!”

“I doubt it will be a particularly interesting story… but I understand.”

Upon offering her hand, Rem hesitated slightly before clutching it in return.

The sensation of their grip brought a smile to Emilia’s face, and she gently pulled them closer. As if caught off guard, Rem stumbled and fell into Emilia’s embrace.

Without hesitation, Emilia hoisted Rem up, announcing, “Sorry! I can’t afford to take it slow, so I’m going to hurry you along!”

“Y-you’re surprisingly strong.”

“Yep, I am. —Everyone, be careful! See you soon!”

With Rem princess-carried, Emilia turned to her surroundings to call out to Kachua and Flopp, before leaping off, climbing to the roof of a building.

“Lady! Emilia! Be careful yourselves!”

“D-don’t forget to come back safely now!”

With those shouts urging her on, Emilia looked down at Rem.

“Hang on tight! I’m going to run pretty fast!”

“—What kind of relationship did we have before?”

As she clung tightly, Rem asked the question hesitantly. Emilia didn’t have a clear answer ready for that, but—

“I want to know that too!”

Emilia declared firmly as she resumed sprinting deeper into the Imperial Capital with Rem held closely.

All the while, she tightly embraced the sensation of Rem in her arms, running, running, and running, until—

“—That’s far enough.”

—Reaching that moment, their reunion was finally realized.