Arc 5, Chapter 56 – “Signing of A Divorce”

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

Translated by :

• Nanashi
• Phantaminum

Proofread by :

• u/IceOccultism
• u/azeem45
• Phantaminum
• SSCaide

Fan Art Source :

• Artist (Deleted Source)

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO TAPPEI NAGATSUKI, THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF RE:ZERO STARTING A LIFE IN A DIFFERENT WORLD FROM ZERO, THIS IS A TRANSLATION OF THE FREE JAPANESE WEB NOVEL INTO ENGLISH

JAPANESE WEB NOVEL SOURCE

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

——The Authority of Greed associated with its star’s name, the true face of its Invincibility.

The names of the stars that Subaru knew aligned with the names of the Sin Archbishops. The etymology of Betelgeuse, Orion’s Hand, was quite fitting with the madman Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti’s Unseen Hand.

Therefore, Subaru believed that the stars’ sobriquets were closely related to the Sin Archbishops’ Authorities.

And the Sin Archbishop of Greed was named Regulus Corneas. Regulus, his first name, had its origin in the Latin word “Leo”, and was derived from the expressions “Little King”, as well as—— “Lion’s Heart”. Although he had once scoffed at the idea, Subaru realized that this notion was not meaningless and pursued this train of thought, thus arriving at a hypothesis.

In the first place, what is a King?

The Kingdom of Lugunica was currently in the middle of the Royal Selection, each candidate striving to show their Kingship. Although each Candidate’s idea of Kingship would come to light sooner or later, Subaru wanted to bring up the concept of a King here, in this situation where it took a more general meaning.

This self-proclaimed King was a Kingdom’s representative, who stood at its top.

Loosening the definition, a nation could be composed of anything, but a single individual could become no nation. A nation can only be a nation if there is a King, and Citizens who follow the King.

Following this line of thought, bearing a name with the meaning of “Little King”, Regulus Corneas would probably also correspondingly have Citizens who could grant him the title of King.

Subaru: [Then, who are the Citizens of this Little Kingdom, with Regulus as its King?]

He did not even have to think about it.

Without bringing any mook Witch Cultists, they had attacked the city of Pristella.

Although this was a group of devils with such distorted personalities and malicious intents so sever they made people look away, the only one to go through the trouble of bringing unnecessary numbers had been Regulus.

Why would he need to do so?

Knowing Regulus, the possibility that he merely craved the limelight was not nonexistent, but what if that was not the case? What if that was necessary for him?

Subaru: [In order for Regulus to be a Little King, he needed to bring his wives, who are the Citizens. Although it’s unknown if the distance is relevant, it looks like Regulus had to bring along his fifty wives due to this restriction.]

Was the condition of his Invincibility based on the number of wives? Or his distance from the wives?

If Regulus’s identity as a Little King were truly conditional, the scope of what Greed could reach would potentially be affected by such limits. In short, Regulus’s wives were in no way irrelevant to his Invincibility.

Subaru: [But, this isn’t quite enough to unveil the secret to his trick.]

What Subaru had understood with his reasoning, was only Small King’s part.

His other name, Lion’s Heart, had yet to be explained, as did the overwhelming power, both offensive and defensive, that accompanied his Invincibility. The fact that his surroundings had no effect on him also remained a mystery.

If it were a mere strengthening of one’s body, it would not have been impossible for Reinhard to break through; However, Regulus’s Invincibility clearly transcended the realm of simple super-strength.

Subaru: [It can’t be a super-strong barrier. All the measures to stop an Invincible enemy have been tried already. On top of that, he definitely lacks a heartbeat and body temperature. Then——]

The name of Lion’s Heart opened a thought, and the last piece of the puzzle fell in place.

Regulus’s Authority of Greed was not Invincibility. The true face of the murderer’s overwhelming Authority was Stillness of an Object’s Time.

Already supplied, already appraised, without holes.

The words that Regulus always wore at his lips of distorted self-satisfaction were about how he was a man satisfied with his ideal existence, but at the same time he made no attempt to hide the nature of his ability.

Subaru: [The time of his physical body’s frozen, so forget attacks; he won’t even get wet. The time of the sand he throws is frozen, so it doesn’t bounce off, it goes straight through.]

Among the familiar superpowers found in manga, there was a similar one, Spatial Splitting.

This power, as its name suggested, created a literal crack in space itself, cutting something off from its surroundings, regardless of whatever may try to affect it. Regulus’s existence itself acted thus, on some level.

Regulus Corneas, who could cut himself off from the flow of time, could be said to be the distortion of space itself. Indeed, he had said that he stood in an entirely different dimension—— Invincibility was but a side effect of Stillness of an Object’s Time.

That was to say——

Subaru: [——The secret technique of freezing time’s your true ability!]

Regulus: [I don’t care how enthusiastic you are, I have no comment on that! Are you that type? Who wishfully believes that you know something, so everyone around you should know that as well? Even pride should be measured, so show me a little self-awareness, you selfish bastard!]

Subaru’s back was pressed against a stone wall, hiding his figure as he yelled, and Regulus rushed at him with ridicule.

Breaking through walls, cutting through the canal, a literal march of devastation—— as a result of this, Regulus caught up with Subaru.

Right now, Subaru met all this alone. That said, in truth, this was not the exciting match the word “combat” implied.

Regulus: [Darting back and forth irritates me to death, you. Not running away makes you truly a man, did you think I’d say so? You and I can’t compare at all. Though you clearly gawked as I sent the Sword Saint flying, you can’t even understand something like this? No matter how you look at it, isn’t this just looking down on me!?]

Subaru: [When it’s someone you hate, anything they do is always irritating, right or wrong. If I ran, I’d only run into a future so troublesome it’d kill me. In addition… this choice is the right answer, that should be it.]

Regulus: [Right answer my ass. Whether it’s personnel selection or strategy, all of, all of, all of allofallof it! It can only amount to a twisted result, isn’t that right? If you wanted to continue the fight, wouldn’t it have been much better for that cheating whore to stay? An adulterer like you, is there anything you can do aside from sleeping with someone else’s bride?]

Subaru: [That’s one hell of a statement.]

Subaru was not anxious in the slightest, even while bathed by Regulus’s bitter words. Not anxious, not irritated; even his disgust had been watered out, as he relied on only his smart mouth to control the situation.

Now, Subaru had lured Regulus a distance away from the church, having parted ways with Emilia, facing off with the murderer alone.

“Facing off”, saying so seemed a touch inaccurate. Since Subaru was just trying to hide himself, he maintained his taunting demeanor, striving merely to buy time.

If Regulus noticed this, and attacked so destructively as to rend that entire section of the city from top to bottom, Subaru’s plans would be shattered in an instant. However, Subaru was sure that Regulus would never do so.

In this short period of time, with the hostile nature of their interactions, he had very accurately gauged Regulus’s character.

In short, Regulus was scum.

This simple statement could in no way explain all of Regulus’s problems, however. More precisely, Regulus was someone who put his own sense of values above all others’, and would certainly never be capable of ignoring the existence of others.

To be frank, calling him the incarnation of desire for approval and desire to show off would be the simplest way to put it.

Claiming that he possessed no desires and no demands with sophisticated words, treating his existence as one that had already achieved perfection, Regulus seemed unable to continue living without proclaiming his own value to others.

Repressing the feelings of others, imposing his own values onto them, using intimidation and violence to forcefully instate himself as supreme. This attitude was not how he treated just his brides, but how he treated the entire world.

Therefore, that was why Regulus attempted to meet everyone with his own kind of straightforward honesty. His battle of offense and defense against Reinhard served as perfect proof.

If Regulus was capable and willing of doing so, he could have completely invalidated Reinhard’s attacks with his Invincibility, and gone on to kill the somewhat-troublesome Subaru and Emilia. Despite this, he had been deliberately eager to accept Reinhard’s attacks directly, and thus was unable to put this acute plan into action.

Although, this was not to say that Regulus valued nobleness of spirit. Rather, this decidedly further proved the nature that he had supposedly cast aside.

——This man, Regulus, was a man who could not help but force everything around him to yield, by use of his Authority.

Therefore, he did not crush the meddlesome Reinhard, nor did he ignore Subaru’s provocations. Those were not decisions he could make in battle.

Assured by the premise that he could be neither injured or defeated, he needed to force his opponents into complete surrender, leaving their spirits defeated and broken—— Regulus was a man who knew only this way of battle.

Such a repulsive nature was truly unsightly to behold.

The reason behind this judgement was that everyone, with no exception, would to some extent hold the same feelings. Assuredly so. Even Subaru himself was aware of such ugliness in his own nature. Precisely because he forced people to gaze into this ugliness, this was why the existence known as Regulus was so hateful.

However, this exact reason was also what allowed a faint glimpse at a tiny chance of victory.

Subaru: [Your secret method of freezing time, fine, ignore it, but what about the first part? Was my speculation really completely off? If you would, even if it’s just a rough idea, I hope you can outline it for me.]

Regulus: [Why would I have to answer the question? It’s nonsensical and not obliged of me. A matter of disclosing my own secrets isn’t even about rights anymore. To what extent are you planning to look down on me? You bastard, are you incapable of understanding without having your bones ground to dust!?]

Falling for Subaru’s provocation, Regulus stomped hard at the ground.

The tips of his feet pierced the stone road, as easily as if it were made of pudding, sending dirt flying everywhere. The ammunition it released randomly destroyed the area near Subaru’s hiding place, as only the general direction of his voice could be used to ascertain his position.

Long before the bullets could find him, Subaru, who had read Regulus’s actions, had fled from the wall. During his escape, he also toppled the stone pillars standing at the ends of the street.

And thus, the rope tied to the stone pillar came untied, and a series of slight sounds echoed.

Overtop the head of Regulus, who had looked up to see what had happened, countless shards of ice flew down. With Emilia’s help, the street had been turned into a minefield of carefully lain traps.

Of course, the place where Regulus had been directly struck was unscathed, but——

Regulus: [This kind of thing! This is nothing but what you’d call idiotic!]

Regulus, without attempting to dodge the falling ice, spread his arms in order to accept it with his entire body.

Of course, without hope of piercing his invincibility, the shards of ice shattered into fragments, scattering to disperse into Mana particles. Including the parts that had failed to touch his body, as if to show off, Regulus stomped through all the scattered bits of ice, destroying them utterly.

Regulus: [What’s this supposed to be? If your long rambling theory from just now is indeed correct, couldn’t you yourself think of how meaningless this attack is? Look at it this way, isn’t it that that girl’s attacks are much more effective? Winding back and forth, just what do you intend to do!?]

Subaru: [I can answer what I intend to achieve by winding back and forth like this, if you answer my question. This should be an equal exchange, no?]

Regulus: [An exchange between me and you, what is this but sheer wild arrogance!]

Subaru pulled back quickly, putting distance between himself and Regulus.

Refusing to let him go, Regulus chased Subaru persistently, gently bending his knees and leaping in one motion. Moving forward with that explosive propulsion, in a blink of the eyes, the distance between the two shrank.

Like this, fingertips of death reached Subaru—— almost, but just before that, Regulus lost his foothold.

Regulus: [Wha——!?]

Subaru: [This was truly outside my expectations, but since you’re someone who only knows how to meet force with force, you’re super weak against all sorts of tricks.]

The classic pitfall trap. It was reliant on Emilia’s magic to dig into the ground, a primitive mechanic which used a layer of ice covered with soil.

However, Regulus completely fell for a simple trap, the sort of which a veteran of hundreds of battles should have seen through. Although ironic, this also served as evidence that Regulus was incapable of doing anything but enforce victories with brute force.

Properly and uprightly, using his cheat ability to directly crush his opponent with brute force. Capable of nothing aside from this, evidently a man who would consider no other battle tactics.

Subaru: [Albeit it’s different from nullifying your Authority, I can think of a million ways to pull these things off. If I keep repeating such a thing, it’s gonna get hard to even tell who the antagonist is anymore, though.]

Taking a shortcut to reach the church first, they had fought for every last second to turn this area into a minefield of traps.

Although Emilia had refused to leave Subaru until the last second, she could never use these dirty tactics with her guileless nature. And so, they allocated the right person in the right place.

Subaru: [————]

In the time Regulus took to climb out of the hole, Subaru surreptitiously glanced down at his right foot. Even after the strenuous parkour of his escape, it was still in excellent condition. In fact, he had almost forgotten that it had been turned to bloody ribbons and enveloped in this mysterious black pattern.

Perhaps this was the influence of the Dragon’s Blood, which felt almost as if the blood were speaking to Subaru.

‘This arrogant false King that is your enemy, show him the prestige of the Dragon Kingdom’.

Subaru: [In this case, I’ll be asking you for more help. Though I’ll be owing you lots.]

Regulus: [You are so annoying, you fucking bastard!]

The ground erupted, fragments of stone steps and lumps of soil scattering with force.

Being influenced by Regulus’s Authority, they caused further fierce damage to the streets. Despite this devastation, Subaru was not within its destructive reach.

Having jumped out from the ground, Regulus, eyes widened with hate, glowered at Subaru, who had put distance between them again. Very deliberately, Subaru raised his middle finger at Regulus.

Subaru: [Seems that someone once said this is idiotic, may I ask who said this, again? It’s often said that ‘treating others as a mirror can lead to an understanding of victory and defeat’, but shouldn’t you take a long hard look at a mirror first?]

Regulus: [Messing, messing with me, to such an extent, you..!]

After politely and carefully having his flaws pointed out, Regulus revealed a look of ferocity.

More than likely, his homicidal feelings towards Subaru had already easily reached a breaking point, and the flames of hatred had consumed his murderous, unchanging body.

Regulus seemingly had not noticed at all that this was all more or less within the scope of Subaru’s expectations. Because, without sharpening his murderous intent, his loose and messy attacks would be ineffective. And that was a point Regulus had yet to notice for even the slightest of moments.

Subaru: [Though that’s the case, I can’t afford to take this lightly.]

Wiping sweat from his neck, Subaru, with a flippant grin, also hid his readiness for death.

What he could not let Regulus see, was that his intent was only to buy time. And even if that were to be seen though, he absolutely must not gauge the reasoning behind it. This was the condition for victory of this battle, the task that Subaru, who had sent Emilia away, needed to accomplish.

This was what he and Emilia had sworn to each other, that they would fulfill their respective duties no matter what. And so——

Subaru: [Leaving it to you, Emilia—— Be sure to pull out the wives’ heartfelt feelings.]

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

When Emilia arrived at the church, the brides were still where they had been left.

Emilia: [Excellent, everyone’s still exactly——]

Looking at the faces of the wives lined up in attendance, Emilia blurted her feelings. However, she was struck silent, as the positions of the wives in attendance had remained quite literally unchanged.

If Emilia’s memory served her correctly—— they had not moved even the slightest bit since the moment they had left the cathedral.

Emilia: [Just because Regulus gave an order to keep still…?]

What Emilia understood, from what she had already been told by Subaru, was that the Authority of Greed had no binding force. Although he had stressed repeatedly, “This is just a hypothesis”, Emilia had full faith and no doubts in his answer.

In order to defeat that murderer, what Subaru and Emilia had to accomplish no matter what had yet to be done.

Emilia: [Everyone stayed here… Then, the first issue isn’t a problem.]

The most frightening possibility was that the wives had scattered into hiding, or had fled the church in a panic to hide.

If things got out of hand, they would be forced to take a last resort. The plan that Subaru had so gravely proposed, Emilia wanted to avoid it if at all possible.

And so——

Emilia: [Everyone, let’s talk about this.]

There was no time. Although there was no guarantee they would even listen, Emilia had to overcome this obstacle now.

Number One Hundred & Eighty-Four: [——Husband-sama, how is he?]

In the half-destroyed church, standing in the middle and facing Emilia, the first to respond was a blonde-haired woman—— No. 184. Unlike the other silent wives seated in neat rows, only she sat at the front near the collapsed altar.

Having helped Emilia change, offering her advice, with eyes as cold as when she spoke of the despair her future would hold, No. 184 questioned the returning Emilia in a voice devoid of inflection.

Emilia: [Regulus is outside… Sorry. We’re still engaged in battle. I couldn’t strike him down.]

No. 184: [Is that so… I am sure you are.]

The corners of No. 184’s mouth rose almost imperceptibly.

Such a tiny smile, as if she did not know why it was there. In addition, Emilia understood that this smile conveyed neither joy nor sadness, but something resembling ridicule.

Because, a smile like this, which existed to bring harm unto others, was one Emilia had encountered many times in the past. And so——

Emilia: [Such a cold smile. I don’t think it suits you, such an expression.]

No. 184: […My apologies. Husband-sama forbids smiles, so I allowed you to see an undignified expression.]

Emilia: [Please don’t apologize. What I meant wasn’t that.]

At No. 184’s self-deprecating words, Emilia shook her head.

Inside her chest, heat began to concentrate somewhere that was not her heart. It was just as Subaru had told her, those words kept rising to the surface of her mind.

Intense to the point of discomfort was a fierce feeling, swelling unbearably inside her heart.

Closing her eyes, suppressing the turbulent emotions, Emilia glanced back and forth around the church before she spoke.

Emilia: [We’re planning to take down Regulus. To do so, we need everyone’s help.]

Wives: [————]

Emilia: [I don’t know what treatment you’ve suffered at Regulus’s hand up until now, but even I, who was only briefly in contact with him, can see that Regulus is wrong.]

Having been taken by him while unconscious, he had asked for her hand in marriage as soon as she had woken up. Then, she had immediately been overwhelmed by the wedding ceremony, and had been told of Regulus’s ideas on marriage and the way he treated his wives.

It was a far cry from the happy marriages Emilia had envisioned.

Emilia: [I don’t want to lose to Regulus. I understand that in battle, winning or losing doesn’t make something right. But right here, right now, I don’t want to lose to Regulus. If I lose… certainly, that important thing will be trampled upon.]

No. 184: [That important thing… huh?]

Emilia: [————]

No. 184: [If you do not wish to lose your life, you should have obeyed Husband-sama from the start, or you should have tried to flee without regard for anything else. Both were possible. Clearly, that would have been best for you.]

With a dark gaze, No. 184 answered Emilia.

No. 184: [What happened to the Sword Saint and to that Knight of yours, who were accompanying you earlier? They met Husband-sama’s counterattack, and fell in battle. And thus, you alone fled here.]

Emilia: [No. Both Subaru and Reinhard are still fighting Regulus. They believe in me and are waiting for my return.]

No. 184: [What could you accomplish by returning? And then, saying that you require our help and such… I do not understand what you mean.]

Emilia: [Do you truly not understand what I mean?]

No. 184: [——?]

Faced with Emilia’s interrogation, No. 184 raised her eyebrow wordlessly.

This natural reaction did not seem forced nor calculating in the slightest. Although she had slackened because she had resigned herself, No. 184 had never weaved words with the intent to deceive Emilia since the very beginning.

In other words, she truly had no idea.

——That Regulus’s Heart had been entrusted to his wives, her included.

Emilia: [And everyone else? Everyone, are you truly okay with this? Having wanted do anything at all, having wanted someone else to do something, is there no one who still thinks this way?]

No. 184: [Please stop. I will listen to you. If you have questions, please ask me. My answer is the answer of the collective.]

Facing Emilia who tried to take a read of those around her, No. 184 interjected with stiff words.

Stubborn, or maybe brave—— Emilia recalled how, for her sake, the woman had even questioned Regulus, at risk of her own life. Although that had indeed been a form of altruism——

Emilia: [I get the feeling you’ve abandoned your own life, which is supposed to be the most important thing.]

No. 184: [————]

Emilia: [But in truth, you aren’t convinced by all this.]

Ever since the start of all this, No. 184 had been the one to speak with Emilia. Not merely because Regulus had ordered her to take charge of Emilia. In Emilia’s place, she had offered her opinions to Regulus, stood on behalf of other brides, and right now intended to accept the words hurled at all of them.

This kind of posturing placed her as Regulus’s confidant—— the suspicion that she was opportunistically manipulating Emilia and the brides was unavoidable.

Emilia: [But, I don’t think that’s the case. You aren’t Regulus’s Heart. I’d like to believe this.]

Emilia had been saved numerous times by No. 184. Not sheltering her in a way that was visible to the naked eye, nor taking her hands to guide her.

Instead, in the face of incomprehensible malice, making sure that she would be prepared to proceed on. Someone so concerned about others——

Emilia: [Being the true bride of someone like that, I can’t picture it.]

No. 184: […Perhaps it was because I wanted you to believe that, that I spoke to you, you know.]

Emilia: [Yeah, I’m not very smart, so if you were trying to fool me, I may have been deceived instantly. But,]

Emilia did not know whether she had a gaze to discern that or not.

Currently, the comrades that stood by Emilia were not doing so because Emilia had chosen them and expected for them to eventually be her comrades. It had been because all of Emilia’s comrades had chosen her.

But even with being chosen, she had never thought that she herself was amazing or anything like that. Rather, she had always felt uneasy, afraid of having to live up to expectations.

However, she wanted to respond to the expectations bestowed upon her, and she wanted to be able to respond to expectations herself. Always, she had prayed thus.

Emilia: [I want to believe in you. This is a choice I made.]

No. 184: [————]

Emilia: [Why are you standing up for the silent crowd? Why, despite the surrender in your eyes, would you still help me? Why are you——]

No. 184: [All questions.]

Interrupting Emilia’s question, No. 184 shook her head.

Then, for the first time since Emilia had arrived here, she raised her face.

Frozen feelings on a stiff expression. Such dry eyes, and closed lips. This sense of sorrow took the woman’s already beautiful face to another level. However, what she was thinking was——

No. 184: [Please leave as soon as you can. If Husband-sama sees us, we will all die.]

Emilia: [Listen to me——]

No. 184: [I have no obligation to respond to your questions. You are no longer Husband-sama’s wife. You are not like us.]

Emilia: [——I’m a half-elf.]

No. 184: [Eh?]

Faced with Emilia’s confession, the woman was struck silent.

Realizing that she had done something unexpected, Emilia gave a faint smile. On the other hand, the woman also understood the meaning of Emilia’s confession.

She understood that, standing in front of her eyes, was a silver-haired half-devil.

No. 184: [Silver-haired… half-elf…]

Emilia: [In truth, up until now, you and I have been different. Different situations, different origins, different even in our most basic qualities. But I don’t think anything like ‘everything about us is different, so there’s no connection between us’ because of that.]

No. 184: [————]

Emilia: [The things you and I see are surely the same. When you’re sad, you’ll want to cry; when you are faced with something you can’t solve, you’ll be angry; when you encounter something happy, you’ll laugh with joy. That’s the same, right?]

No. 184: [What exactly… are you trying to say?]

Emilia, who had been talking in a rush, drew a sigh from No. 184.

At the question, Emilia found herself confused. What exactly she wanted to say, and why she wanted to say it. She herself could not figure it out.

This went to show that she was talking based off of emotion, but that made her forget the topic and go off-track. She should learn from Subaru, and convey the feeling she wished to convey in a straightforward manner.

Emilia: [That is, I…]

There were things she wanted to know. There were things she wanted to inquire about.

Things about Regulus’s Heart. Things about standing up and taking the lead role of the wives with her utterly defeated expression; having protected Emilia, who was about to lose everything.

All of this together, she hoped that the woman would answer. And one more thing, that she needed to know first.

That was——

Emilia: [Your name, could you tell it to me?]

No. 184: [————]

Emilia: [My name is Emilia, just Emilia. Although with circumstances different from yours, but surely sharing similarities with you, I’m a half-elf.]

No. 184: [Hmph…]

Emilia: [If we can see the same things, feel the same things, share the same hopes… Certainly, talking won’t be without meaning.]

Once upon a time, her name had been requested of her like this.

When her heart had been ridden with loneliness, when she had been convinced that she had no one to rely on, when she felt as if endless floods were swallowing her.

Back then, her heart had been seized by those same words.

——Today, that was even more so.

At that time, she had been truly happy. The boy who she had never met before, recognizing her existence, had made her very happy.

Having grown used to being rejected for so long, there was nothing she could do when someone had thrown such words at her.

No. 184: [————]

Once again, she had to borrow Subaru’s strength.

Left and right, she was borrowing, and then desperately piecing it together. But that was fine.

No. 184: [Don’t, kid around… Why is it, now…]

Before Emilia, No. 184—— the woman held her head, shaking it as she screamed with all her might. That expression was filled with agony, that voice with resentment, and those eyes with the feelings of gazing upon what she loathed.

This was, since the beginning, the first genuine emotion that Emilia had wrought from her——

No. 184: [Why, after all that, are you suddenly saying something like we can be human again!?]

As if to release the muddy flow of long-repressed emotions, she wailed.

No. 184: [Not that not being human matters, being a doll is just fine. That man is satisfied if we only act as obedient dolls. If we just act like dolls, our lives will remain safe and sound. Only because we could believe this, did we last until today… And yet!]

For the ruination of her efforts thus far, she clashed with Emilia.

An outsider who knew nothing, what could they know about people like her, desperately struggling to even stay alive?

No. 184: [What do you even know about us!?]

Emilia: [I know that you’re incredibly kind.]

No. 184: [What do you even know about us!?]

Emilia: [I know just how hard you worked to endure.]

No. 184: [What do you, even know, about us…!?]

Emilia: [I know that you’re all crying out to be saved.]

Hearing Emilia’s words, the woman suddenly raised her face, as if it had bounced on a spring.

With widened, round eyes, with struggling, faintly moving lips.

She could not utter even a single word. Because, up until now, if any of them had said it, their hearts would surely have given out.

Despairing for help, and the hope of salvation, were two sides of the same coin. Holding such hopes, until now, had not been allowed. In order to keep their minds from giving in, those thoughts were smothered, in their heart of hearts.

And that was how even the simplest of cries for help had been sealed deep within their hearts.

Emilia: [“I want to be saved”; all of you are saying that. So I’ll save you. I’ll free you from Regulus’s hands. And to that end——]

No. 184: [————]

Emilia: [Please lend me your strength. Please help the ones who, for me and you… those who are even now, still engaged in battle.]

She lowered her head. With sincerity, having stated her hopes, Emilia lowered her head.

She stared straight at the ground. Her heartbeat leapt painfully, and the faint, barely detectable atmosphere surrounding her felt as if it were a hurricane.

She held up her body, now on the verge of crumbling, clenching her teeth to steel her heart.

She was not the only one feeling afraid. Because, certainly, they had lived an unending nightmare, one they could never wake up from.

And then——

No. 184: […Please, wait just a moment.]

Emilia: [————]

Towards Emilia, who had been keeping her head down, the woman spoke, biting her lip. Then, with a deep breath, she cast her gaze away from Emilia. There stood the gathered wordless wives, who observed the progressing dialogue.

No. 184: [I have a question, that I would like to ask. One that until now, I have yet to have posed to anyone.]

The woman paused for a moment, and the wives remained silent, wearing frigid expressions.

Emilia also could not form a single sentence, and like this waited for the result.

Bathed in a sea of gazes which could stop even breaths, the woman who had always stood up as the leader of the wives, spoke.

No. 184: [Is there anyone here who loves that man?]

The question that the woman posed, as she gently tilted her head, spread throughout the church.

The content shocked Emilia, and the brides who had remained silent only cast their gazes around at each other. Confusion accompanied the faint emotion that emerged in their minds.

And like a ripple, it spread,

Wife: […Hate him.]

The one who spoke this, was neither Emilia nor the woman who acted as the wives’ representative. It was one of the wives seated in the rows, a woman with short hair.

Those words, which had barely been squeezed out, shocked not merely Emilia.

Wives: [I also hate him.] / [I hate him too.] / [I’ve always hated him.] / [I hate him, I really hate him.] / [What a weirdo.] / [Messed up in the head.] / [Has he even loved anyone before?] / [Only himself.] / [I don’t know how many times I’ve turned him down in my head.] / [I want to cry.] / [But I can’t.] / [Hate him.] / [He should just die.] / [I hate him more than anything.] / [Hatehatehate, truly hate him.] / [His gaze is hateful.] / [The way he emphasizes words is hideous.] / [The way he walks is hateful.] / [His character is despicable.] / [Unlovable by nature.] / [I hate him more than yesterday.] / [I’ll hate him more tomorrow.] / [Disgusting.] / [Perverted.] / [The brain of a child.] / [Even a child would be better.] / [Even a ground dragon would be better.] / [No one could be a good match for him.] / [Physiologically unacceptable.] / [Hatehatehate.] / [He makes me want to vomit.] / [I don’t know how many times I’ve thought about beating him to death.] / [The worst.] / [Worse than the worst.] / [Being near him nauseates me.] / [His touch makes me feel like I’m rotting.] / [My heart died.] / [My family’s dead.] / [How could I like him if he forcibly kidnapped me?] / [I can’t even believe there’s someone so unrepentant and malicious?] / [It hurts so much I want to die.] / [He’s long-winded and pompous, every time I talk to him I want to die a bit more.] / [I hope his intestines rot.] / [Give my lover back.] / [I want to go home, I want to go home…] / [Screw rescuing us, just murder him instead.] / [Scummy bastard.] / [Truly hateful, I’ll hate him forever!] / [A woman who would ever love him doesn’t exist, does she?] / [Nor a man.] / [No human would ever love him.]

As if a dam had broken, the wives poured out the words that had been suppressed in their hearts until now.

The overflowing words were full of the resentment and disgust that had festered for too long in their hearts, stuffed with years of hatred and suffering, certainly not feelings that could bring joy.

——Even so, their expressions, as they spat those words out, became joyous and clear.

No. 184: [Looks like it is unanimous, but none could state their opinions for such a long time.]

Emilia: [You, too, was there anything you wanted to say?]

No. 184: [Ah, there is.]

After hearing the wives’ admissions, the woman turned around to face Emilia.

Caressing her long blonde hair, then with a face full of smiles—— casting aside the order that forbade smiling, for the first time she revealed her beautiful smile.

No. 184: [I hate that kind of man—— Please by all means, help us.]

Like this, the divorce statement was signed with a faint smile.