Chapter 10

Threatened Heart

Her heart, made from flesh and blood, was threatened to collapse under its own weight. She clenched against her chest, squeezed past her breasts and into her ribs. Each and every one of her nerves shivered and sobbed with fear.

Ever since her meeting with the self-proclaimed Archbishop of Pride, Natsuki Subaru, her once-confident heart now crumbled under doubt, suspicion, and cowardice.

Especially without Puck by her side.

In what appeared to be an alternate world, Emilia found Beatrice and Rem speaking leisurely alongside her most terrifying enemy.

They looked so happy.

What's going on? She thought to herself, Am I…in a different world? That was the only explanation.

When she felt the attack at the capital, she dashed to the rescue, and found something horrifying.

She saw Pandora, Hector, a Witch Cultist, and Subaru fighting in the Capital. Then she saw someone who looked exactly like her, Rem, and Beatrice fighting against the witches, trying to save Subaru.

Emilia couldn't move a muscle; she was too afraid to jump in to help. Since when had she turned out to be so cowardly?!

"In this…world…Is Subaru a good boy?" She muttered under her breath. No, even if it was true, she just couldn't accept it at an emotional level.

Her feet suddenly dragged off, running away from the nightmarish battle that took place. The moment she met Pride, her eyes drifted into his pupils and trembled upon a deep dark never-ending madness, and glanced into that abyss; ever since then, her heart trembled. She never wanted to see that kind of evil again; she wanted to avert her eyes from it.

In short: she ran away.

After that spectacle of a battle, Emilia spent the remaining of the day searching for her spirit stone. Could she have left it back in her own world?

She had no money, no food, and no water. Her feet slowly dragged on as the sun settled down. Her dress wasn't warm enough to shield her from the fierce cold.

Tears were forming in her eyes, until a strange voice called out to her, "Emilia-sama!" The male's voice grabbed her hand, and in shock she turned to see the culprit. "Emilia-sama! I thought you went back to the mansion. Thank Goodness I stayed behind to gather the paperwork. What were you thinking?!"

The strange man wore a green merchant-esque suit with a slightly long green top hat. His silver hair was beautiful and short; it wouldn't be a stretch to say he'd be able to pass as a woman with his moderately light voice.

"….Who're you?" She asked dumbly.

"Did you forget the face of one of your allies?! Jeez, don't let Natsuki-san influence you! I'm begging you, Emilia-sama!"

"Wai-but-"

"No buts! We need to head back to the mansion immediately! After Natsuki-san's capture, who knows what vile things they are doing to him! I can't even imagine!"

Dragged by Otto's flow-of-conversation, Emilia was brought to a carriage, and without being able grasp the situation, was brought to a day-long journey back to the Mather's Mansion.

"We'll get through this, Emilia-sama! I promise you!" He started to ramble as he clenched his fists in determination, "And so will Natsuki-san! Your knight won't die so frivolously to a pack of criminals!"

"My…knight?" She caught on to that word. Knight. Seeing her confused expression, Otto gazed at her, worriedly. Maybe I can figure out the situation by going with him…I hope I'm not getting into any trouble…but I really need to figure out what's going on.

"I know you had a long day, Emilia-sama, so please, rest."

The moment he had said, she became self-aware of the exhaustion plaguing her body and mind. Almost immediately, her eyes started to flutter and close. "Ah…." She muttered, "Mm.." were her last words before the half-elf drifted off to sleep.

"Look around you, Emilia! See all that I've done! It's all for you! Do you like it?! You must love it! Yes yes yes that's how you are, always accepting everything around you! This is my token of gratitude, for saving me!"

"W-what? Who're you?!"

"It's only obvious you wouldn't remember! But know this: I love you more than anyone in the world. I would die for you, I have died for you! Oh yes, Emilia. I love you. You wanted the crown, so here it is!"

"No…I don't want a throne with bodies scattered underneath it!"

"Oh but it was the only way! As a half-elf you held a major disadvantage. The only way to win is to destroy the enemy!"

"You never believed in me! You don't even love me! All your words are fake!"

"Fake? Oh no. Soon, you'll understand."

Flames and fire devoured the entirety of the Kingdom of Lugnica. The hero known as Reinhard was now nothing more than a withered husk, hellbent on revenge.

The one responsible for it all, a powerless young boy with daggered black hair with no redeeming features, stood there, laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Gasping for air, Emilia woke up in a cold sweat. She peeked out of the carriage and noticed that it was dusk time. She could see the Mather's Mansion far off in the distance.

"We're almost there, Emilia-sama," Otto said. He hadn't heard Emilia's night terrors. The merchant was blissfully unaware of what he was getting himself into.

The ground dragon snorted as it skipped across the soil, dodging the trees swiftly and elegantly. Emilia gazed at Otto, wondering if she's ever met him in her world.

Probably not.

In this world, it seemed like the other Emilia had so many friends. She seemed far more well-off than the Emilia in the carriage. Right now, this Emilia was hopelessly lost.

The forest that was burned along with the Mather's faction was all burned to the ground in her world, but here, everything flourished. She saw so many children running around gleefully and happy.

The village she once thought forever destroyed was now the very definition of prosperity. She felt her eyes sting; tears were running down her eyes like a waterfall. Otto, noticing this, started to panic as he tried to console her. "Don't worry! Natsuki-san will come back! I'm sure of it!"

"The-the village…is still here!"

"Huh? What about Natsuki-san?" He muttered, confused.

With no intention of answering, Emilia looked at the mansion already close in sight. It was still standing, almost brand new from the last time she remembered it.

Back in her world, it went up in flames as Roswaal went insane; Emilia never learned the reason why.

The carriage stopped in front of the mansion, and two maids came out. "Emilia-sama?" The blue-haired maid whispered, confused. "No, that's not possible."

"Is there something wrong, Rem-san?" Otto tilted his head, confused.

With forcefulness, the red-haired maid pulled a silver-haired girl from inside the mansion outside. "Here is Emilia-sama. Whoever is right next to you…is a fake."

"A…what?"

The Emilia next to the maids, and the Emilia next to Otto gasped at the sight of each other. Confusion. Suspicion. Caution.

So many negative emotions ran through them, when the Emilia by the mansion asked the Emilia of the carriage something petrifying.

"Are you….Satella?"

Chapter End

Author Notes

Sorry for the short chapter. Just realized it's going to be kinda hard figuring out the timeline of Emilia's side of the story, considering we have a character(s) that can reverse time…so…yeah…

Anyways, thanks for reading.