Chapter 158 – Disgusting Expression
"Are you really not going to stay a bit longer?"
"No, we've already stayed too long. Everyone in the village is missing their families. If we calculate the time, it's about right for us to return and regroup with them."
"I see... Well then, safe travels, Natsuki."
A large group departed from the royal capital, and the villagers, eager to return home, were excited to reunite with their loved ones.
But when everyone returned to the village before nightfall, they discovered that none of the villagers who were supposed to have already returned had shown up.
The growing anxiety and worry made everyone irritable, but thanks to Natsuki Subaru's reassurance, they managed to calm down somewhat.
Later, when Subaru returned to the mansion with Otto, Emilia, and the still-unconscious Rem, he had thought no one would be inside. But as he prepared to open the door, someone opened it from the other side.
The person who appeared before Subaru was a blonde woman in a maid uniform.
"Mm—so you're saying that you, Frederica, were once the head maid of the mansion, but for some reason left before I arrived. Then, recently, you returned after receiving a letter from Ram, is that right?"
Sitting in the drawing room, Subaru leaned back on the sofa, looking at Frederica Baumann, who sat opposite him.
She was beautiful, and just standing there gave off the air of a mature older sister.
However, whenever she spoke or smiled, Subaru's attention was always drawn to her sharp canines, making her consciously try not to show her teeth when speaking and cover her mouth with her hand when smiling.
"Mm, looks like you and Lady Emilia went through quite a lot."
"I'll let Emilia and you talk about that. I'm a little tired—I'll head back and rest first."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Leaving those words behind with a smile to Emilia and Frederica, Subaru exited the room.
As Subaru walked down the hallway, he stopped in front of a door—just beyond it lay the forbidden library.
He hesitated, thinking of her.
That night, he had asked Beatrice to teach him magic, but due to various circumstances, he ended up standing her up for three days. She was surely furious.
He knew he had to apologize eventually. But before that, there was someone else he had to see.
With that in mind, Subaru arrived at the door to Geuse' room and pushed it open.
"Geuse."
"So it's you, Subaru... Judging by your expression, something bad must have happened?"
Geuse was sitting on the bed reading a book.
His complexion had improved, and he looked much better than before—more handsome, even. Aside from his clothes, there was no trace of his former identity as the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.
"I need information on Gluttony! How can we force Gluttony to spit out what he's consumed?! Where is he now?!"
As Subaru slammed the door and approached him, just hearing the word "Gluttony" twisted Geuse' expression into a grimace.
Geuse stared at Subaru silently. Subaru's face grew more impatient and tense by the second.
"Gluttony... I'm sorry. All I know is what his Authority does. I don't have any information on how to reverse the effects of that Authority."
"Then what about his location?!"
"Calm down, Subaru. You're not the person I used to know.
We Sin Archbishops don't really communicate with each other. We all do our own thing. Unless guided by the Gospel, we don't contact one another."
"..."
Hearing this, Subaru backed away a few steps and slumped down onto the edge of the bed, looking utterly drained.
Geuse looked at Subaru's current state. He didn't even need to ask what had happened—he could guess from the night Subaru had rushed off until now, when he returned asking about Gluttony.
Considering Gluttony's history, it wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. But even if he understood, there was nothing Geuse could do to help Subaru escape his current despair.
Silence. Stillness.
The two of them stayed frozen in place like puppets for a long, long time without speaking.
Outside, the sky had turned completely dark.
"…"
"Have you been doing alright these past few days?"
"Pretty well. I've had a lot on my mind. About Emilia... I've decided not to tell her. I'll wait until she remembers on her own—then I'll apologize.
Until she remembers, I'll protect her. I'll atone for what I've done in the past."
"I see. If that's your decision, then rest well. I'll be going now."
As Geuse watched Subaru stand up and walk to the door, he hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Subaru... you really need to rest."
"I have been resting. Rather than worry about me, you should be more concerned about yourself. You might look better, but you're still far from recovered."
With those words, Subaru left the room and quietly closed the door. His eyes then shifted to another door not far away.
He walked over, patted his cheeks, took a deep breath, and tried to compose himself to appear as normal as possible.
Once he adjusted his expression, Subaru reached out and opened the door—his eyes met Beatrice's. Before he could say anything, he was hit by a wave of magic.
Subaru staggered back several steps, and the door slammed shut in front of him. The smile on his face slowly disappeared.
As Subaru passed another door on his way back to his room, it suddenly swung open, and before he could react, he was pulled inside by some invisible force.
He heard the door slam behind him and found himself on the floor, looking up at Beatrice sitting in a chair.
"As expected, I can't just let you off easy! You bastard, you left without saying a word.
Do you know how long Betty waited for you?! You said you wanted to learn magic, and Betty was all ready to teach you!
But you stood Betty up!"
Listening to Beatrice's scolding, Subaru stood up and silently faced her furious expression.
"Sorry. Something came up... but I promise it won't happen again. Please forgive me, Master Beatrice?"
Beatrice looked at the smile on Subaru's face, furrowing her brows. Her anger vanished as she spoke with disgust:
"What is with that expression? It's disgusting. Don't show that gross face in front of Betty."
"Ah? Gross? I thought my smile was perfect."
At that, Beatrice waved her hand, and a mirror appeared in front of Subaru—only then did he finally see what he really looked like.
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