[ "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you…"
In the end, there was only this one sentence. In the end, there were only those three words.
Then, a different phrase finally came—
"Love me."
Realizing that blindly declaring her love was useless, the Witch of Envy began to crave Subaru's love in return.
"Love me, love me, love me, love me, love me, love me, love me, love me, love me, love me, love me, love me—love me."
The Witch of Envy spoke frantically, driven to madness.
Subaru's body could not move a single inch as it gradually began to melt. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"That demonic voice… just hearing it from the sidelines is incredibly bewitching. She truly is a witch."
Old Man Rom frowned.
"However, there is no need to worry about Subaru being charmed,"
Yuriusu said.
With the determination Subaru had shown along his journey and his feelings for Emilia, how could he possibly be charmed?
"Yeah, no matter how much she says 'love me,' there's no way Lil'Bro is going to waver,"
Felt nodded.
"Putting that aside, isn't this looking really bad for Natsuki-san?"
Otto said.
Subaru's body appeared to be gradually dissolving and disappearing, leaving only his consciousness behind.
"To have Subaru trapped in a prison of shadows with nothing but his consciousness, forced to listen to words of love for eternity…"
Puck muttered.
"Eh? Then isn't this extremely terrible?!"
Emilia gasped in shock.
If only his consciousness remained, he wouldn't even be able to die, which meant he couldn't trigger his loop. Wouldn't he be trapped in this state forever?
"What's that glowing thing?"
Garfiel noticed a spot of light shining amidst the pitch-black darkness.
"This is… I see. I understand now, in fact,"
Beatrice nodded.
"So that's how it is. Teacher truly is amazing,"
Roswaal said, sounding like a schoolboy.
Echidna? What did she do?
—
[ "Ah?" Subaru also noticed that single speck of light in the darkness.
He reached out toward the light—
"Petra's… handkerchief?"
It was Petra's handkerchief that was glowing.
It was from that time.
Everyone remembered when Subaru was about to leave the second Witch's Tea Party, and Echidna had touched Petra's handkerchief.
Could she have anticipated even this?
"Echidna, that woman… she anticipated… that it would turn out… like this…?" Subaru grabbed the handkerchief. In the next instant, it transformed into a shining dagger. "You… bastard… that… damn witch…" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"This is meant for… well, there's no need to even think about it. She wants Natsuki-san to take his own life,"
Otto said.
"How did she calculate this? Or is it that this kind of thing always happens whenever 'Return by Death' is spoken of multiple times, and the Witch of Greed knew about it all along?"
Anastasia speculated.
—
[ Subaru tightly gripped the glowing dagger, closed his eyes, let out a breath, and pressed the blade against his throat.
"Ah…" The dagger easily sliced through and pierced Subaru's throat.
As expected of a witch's tool, its sharpness was incredible.
Blood gushed out, and the already dim screen grew even darker.
"Love me, love me, love me—ah!"
The Witch of Envy reacted differently.
Subaru let go of the dagger in his hand and reached out with all his might toward the Witch of Envy's veil. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"He wants to see what you look like before he dies, is that it?"
Ferris said.
"That damn witch finally reacted. What, you push your 'beloved' so hard, and you're only satisfied when you see him commit suicide? But this is perfect. This great me wants to see what the hell you actually look like,"
Garfiel mocked.
Emilia was also filled with curiosity.
She knew they looked alike, but just how similar were they?
Although she had seen the Witch of Envy during the battle with Petelgeuse, the witch had been completely shrouded in black, making it impossible to see her face clearly.
This time… she hoped to see it clearly.
—
[ Subaru forcefully tore off the veil—
"Ah…" Subaru was stunned.
The young girl before him was weeping in deep sorrow. Her silver hair, her amethyst eyes, and her facial features…
To say that Emilia and the Witch of Envy looked alike was incorrect. That was because— ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"They look exactly the same!"
Otto cried out.
"Eh?! Could she be my twin sister?!"
Emilia covered her mouth in shock.
Even though she had prepared herself mentally and knew they looked alike, she never expected them to be completely identical.
"It feels like watching Emilia-sama look into a mirror,"
Otto remarked.
After all, when Natsuki-san took his own life just now, both Lady Emilia and the Witch of Envy showed expressions of deep grief. Looking at it like this, it really did seem like Lady Emilia looking into a mirror.
"This is truly something."
Anastasia and the others were also deeply shocked.
—
[ Facing the Witch of Envy, who looked exactly like Emilia, Subaru chose to say…
"I will, definitely—I will definitely save you."
The screen went completely dark.
Subaru was about to Return by Death once more. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Ah, what a pain. Tigers in front, wolves behind. So he has to handle his relationship with the blond guy, worry about the young lady's state of mind, watch out for that Great Rabbit or Many-Rabbit thing, and guard against the mansion attack. And most importantly of all, there's that crazy woman called the Witch of Envy. It's a complete mess,"
Felt said.
"No, at the very least, we do not ne~ed to be over~ly cautious of the Witch of En~vy. Not only is she not part of the plan, but her appearance this ti~me was a complete ac~cident. As lo~ng as he does not repeated~ly speak of things re~lated to 'Return by Death,' every~thing should be fine,"
Roswaal said.
—
[ "Gah, cough…" Subaru coughed violently.
"I'm… back… I didn't die in vain… ah… Even so, this is much better than… losing everyone and never being able to return… But how can I feel touched just because I successfully died… I still have things to do, right?"
Next, he turned his gaze toward the collapsed Emilia, gently reaching out his hand toward her as she groaned in pain…
"What's wrong?" However, Subaru's body was trembling, and his teeth were chattering.
"Why am I… shaking… Am I… actually, toward Emilia…" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Subaru is afraid,"
Beatrice said softly.
"Subaru is…"
Emilia couldn't help but start trembling as well.
Was Subaru afraid of her, who looked exactly the same, because of the terror the Witch of Envy had inflicted upon him?
Then how was this… how was this…
Any different from those people who feared her simply because of her appearance?
Would she lose Subaru because of this? Lose Subaru's affection—
"Emilia-sama, Sir Subaru is merely recalling the Witch of Envy, nothing more. Is Subaru-dono not still treating you very well now?"
Wilhelm saw through what was on Emilia's mind.
She was afraid that even Subaru would fear her because of her appearance.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Wilhelm. I really am being unfair to Subaru."
Emilia was instantly snapped out of her thoughts.
How could she think that way? Thinking like that was an insult to Subaru's sincere feelings for her.
Her thoughts just now were truly awful.
Even if such a thing really happened, she wouldn't just stop in her tracks.
Even if such a thing really happened, then just as Subaru had pursued her, she would pursue Subaru and make him no longer afraid of her.
Emilia looked back at the screen—