24

Chapter 24: A maid´s feelingsNotes:

I have discovered the tuba-warrior-verse/ community today and I want to write a story for it so badly, but I resrained myself.

For those who don´t know it´s basically a half shitpost and half souls-like game that sadly doesn´t exist.

I recomend listening to this and reading the comments (tuba high priest boss theme):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn9ylKHBrpQ

Chapter Text

Chapter 24

Rem felt conflicted about the new guest of Lord Roswaal. Tanya von Degurechaff reeked of the unholy witch´s odour that clung to Subaru as well. A week ago she would have tried to kill her for being a follower of the witch´s cult, but the newly appointed butler had shown her that the foul smell alone was no indication of ill will. In fact Rem felt extremely guilty for mistrusting Subaru so much during the first few days even though he obviously just wanted to help.

Now her opinion of the young man had shifted dramatically. Yes, he was weak and reckless and a little bit silly, but that was unimportant to her. She could see deeper than the superficial layers he surrounded himself with. Underneath his sometimes slightly off-putting exterior lay a heart full of courage and love and a fierce protectiveness that reminded her of her sister.

The first thing he had done after pushing her out of harm's way and taking the brunt force of the attack was asking if she was alright. He had dragged one of the children out of the forest while his left arm had nearly been ripped off and had tried to simultaneously put up a smile to tell her that everything was going to be fine even though it clearly wasn´t. (Had Lady Beatrice not extraordinary healing powers then he would have probably lost the appendage for good. He still had to wear bandages after excessive treatment for dragon´s sakes!)

And everything he had done was to protect her and the village children who he had barely known at all. Such compassion and valour had to be admired. The look of pure bliss in his eyes when she had told him that everybody was safe had made her own heart skip a beat. Those scary eyes of his had never looked so inviting. Only sister had ever cared for her that much. For a foolish, undeserving, selfish Rem!

If he knew how inferior to Ram she was then he most likely would never look at her the same way again. She didn't want that though! Actually, she wouldn't mind if he looked more at her... Oh, how selfish she was!

That was at least what she had initially thought, but now she wasn´t so sure anymore. Subaru had explained to her in great detail why he liked her, even preferred her to her sister! How was that possible? She was just a worse version of Ram. But this incredible boy had assured her that that was not the case. For him she was stronger and more capable (and cuter) than sister. Rem couldn't possibly describe the feelings of joy and unexpected relief that flood her being.

In this moment she vowed to pay back her debt to Subaru Natsuki. She would be there for him and stand at his side in every situation. He was the light that lifted the darkness which had suffocated her life until this point. This gift of hope for the future was priceless and could only be repaid with her life. He was her hero.

So, if a unassuming, clumsy boy like him could capture her heart despite his hideous scent then she would give Tanya the same chance. Stupid prejudices would lead her nowhere. Ram would not make this mistake twice!

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Puck on the other hand was as tense as when Roswaal had first showed up in the Elior forest. This Tanya girl was up to no good. He could feel it! Something sinister was hidden behind these shining blue eyes and it would affect Emilia. She was dangerous!

Her mind had been confusing to say the least. Unlike most people who felt only one or two emotions at a time she had layers. He didn´t know how to explain it really, but all the normal emotions that filled regular people's heads were somehow dulled or suppressed by a thick, grey blanket of indifference. It appeared like she reacted only inwardly, but smothered these feelings before they could control her thoughts. At least sometimes, because on rare occasions some emotions would slip through the barrier only to be held back mere moments later.

To have such self-control at a lower age than his daughter was impressive and disconcerting. Tanya knew how not to react on impulses and always operate in a way that suited her goals. It was cold and inhuman and Puck didn´t like that. Especially if this person tried to form an alliance with Emilia. She would no doubt use his wonderful Lia to ruthlessly further her own goals while pretending to care for her and that was unacceptable!

The strangeness didn't end there however. When Puck used all his power to look as deep as he could into her soul he found two seemingly foreign powers cling to it. One was the purplish-black miasma of the witch that hung over Subaru as well and the other was... kind of the exact opposite?

It was an aura of blinding gold and white that smelt faintly of burning incense and roses. The scent was not unpleasant, but became quickly overwhelming the longer he examined it. If the theory hadn´t sounded so ludicrous then he could have sworn that the weird light tried to purge all imperfections from what it touched like it represented pure "holiness". Was it a curse? In his four hundred years he had never seen such a curse though. And what did the witch´s scent signify?

Subaru had it on him and he was certainly not a cultist. If Tanya did not come from this world like his daughter had said then she was probably also not one. But two people showing up with the exact same unnatural attribute was highly suspicious.

Wait a minute...

Both the scary-eyed boy and Tanya had show up roughly a week ago and stunk that way. Subaru was surprisingly unknowing about a lot of basic things in Lugnica and he openly admitted to being not from anywhere they would recognize which was a very odd thing to say. Could it be that he was not from this world as well? He talked strange, his mannerisms were even stranger and he was so naive that it was a wonder he had survived thus far. It seemed like a logical conclusion.

If the witch´s miasma was a sign of otherworldly travel then that would explain this phenomenon quite well. But was the witch bringing these people here? For what reason? Nothing good could come of this if the jealous witch wanted them here. Her plans would bring only evil and destruction to the world as they had four hundred years ago. Puck honestly considered if he should kill them both to prevent anything bad from happening to Emilia.

The problem with that would only be that Lia would lose her closest (and only) friend and a valuable ally as well. No other noble or candidate had expressed even the smallest desire to work with her and his unfortunate child would need all the help she could get to achieve her dream. Maybe Tanya truly could help with that.

Nonetheless, he would definitely keep an eye on her!