Chapter Text
In spite of the night’s encroaching darkness, the full moon provided enough light for the the two fleeing figures as they darted between the trees. With sheer willpower, Ram suppressed the urge to sigh heavily or voice her exhaustion—pride forbade her from showing weakness, no matter the circumstances.
Fortunately for her, the young man running beside her, clad in a tattered butler’s uniform, looked even worse. His ragged state granted her the perfect excuse to take a much-needed break without having to ask for it for herself.
“Barusu, you look as though you’re on the verge of collapse. Not that your ruined uniform could get any more disgraceful, so Ram isn’t particularly concerned about that. However, you are carrying her dearest little sister, and Ram can’t allow you to drop her. Since there are no mabeasts nearby, we’ll stop so you can catch your breath. If you fail to carry Rem any further, you’ll lose what little value you have left,” she declared, making an effort to ensure her tone carried no hint of actual concern she felt.
“Good idea, Nee-sama... haaah! A break would be a godsend right now! Though a little personal concern wouldn’t hurt, just for decency’s sake! And don’t think I haven’t noticed—you’re only holding out of sheer stubbornness!”
“What nonsense!” Ram lied without batting an eye, proudly scoffing. “You clearly overestimate yourself, Barusu, if you dare to judge the condition of a noble maid just by her appearance.”
Their friendly bickering went on as they approached a thick tree. Subaru carefully leaned the unconscious Rem against its trunk. Ever since he had struck her horn with the broken sword, the girl had shown no signs of waking. Thankfully, Ram had regained her senses by then, allowing them all to flee the battlefield while carrying the younger maid between them.
The hours that followed had been a deadly game of hide-and-seek with the mabeasts lurking in the forest. Fortunately, the intensification of the Witch’s scent—which Subaru had used to lure the creatures—seemed to have only a temporary effect. This small mercy spared the exhausted pair from another horde, leaving only scattered stragglers that Ram, despite her drained mana, could still handle.
“And this is coming from someone who turned into a sack of potatoes from mana exhaustion just a few hours ago? Not to mention how you cling to every tree we pass like it’s your lifeline,” Subaru retorted, his teasing laced with warmth.
“And you, I see, remain as lecherous as ever, Barusu. Even in such dire straits, instead of watching for danger, you ogle a defenseless maid at every opportunity. Ram was a fool to hope that at least now you would put your priorities straight.” Ram shot back, masking her embarrassment with her usual sharpness.
“Actually, I was making sure you didn't fall behind or pass out again, Nee-sama!” Subaru snapped, blushing at such accusations.
“Ram didn’t deny that. But even such intentions don’t refute my words!” she declared firmly, turning away to conceal the faint smile tugging at her lips. She had no reason to doubt his sincerity—not truly.
Settling onto the grass and leaning against a nearby tree, Ram cast a lingering glance at Rem’s sleeping form. A tender smile softened her usually sharp features. Despite the life-threatening dangers they had endured in the past day, despite the fact that safety still lay beyond the distant barrier, they were alive—and her dearest little sister was here with her. That was all that mattered.
The sight of Rem’s peaceful slumber stirred old memories, rising like fragments of a dream long buried.
***
The world had rarely been kind to the demon sisters.
From the moment of their birth, their fate had been decided—twins were an abomination for demons, cursed children that should be disposed of. The mere fact that they shared two horns between them was enough to condemn them. Had Ram not awakened her power early, they would have perished without even receiving names.
Thanks to the power hidden in Ram, she and her sister were allowed to live. Moreover, Ram became the center of attention and adoration of the whole village. Everyone exalted her, everyone admired her and her rapidly growing strength.
The clan elders, led by Chief Setanta, discussed incessantly how Ram would become a force in the future that would revive their clan's power and restore the demons to their deserved dominance in the world. They constantly reminded Ram of her duty, of her responsibilities as the reincarnation of the demon god, of the expectations the clan had of her and called it the biggest honor.
Ram had learned all this from an early age. She was well aware of what all the clansmen expected of her. Ram understood it very well. And she despised every one of them.
She hated her clan. Hated their hollow praise. Hated the way they looked at her—not as a person, but as a vessel for their ambitions, a mere tool, a weapon to fulfill their megalomaniacal goals.
The clan never saw Ram — only the power she wielded. They marveled at her strength, whispered prophecies of the demon god’s return, and shaped her into their symbol of hope. But Ram knew the truth: their admiration was as fragile as her horn had been. Strip away her power, and their devotion would vanish like smoke. Without it, she and Rem would have been killed on their very first night. They had never cared for her. And she didn’t care in return.
And Rem—sweet, loyal Rem—bore the weight of their scorn. The elders muttered behind closed doors about her worthlessness, her mediocrity, and how her very existence had stolen Ram’s potential. "She should never have been born" they said. A "flaw in the divine design".
Ram hated it. And she hated anyone who dared to say it or agree with it. Her fury was swift and merciless. Those who dared to try to harm Rem learned the hard way that their prodigy’s wrath was not reserved for enemies alone. Open attacks ceased quickly.
But the disdain remained, festering beneath false smiles. All Ram could do was be a loving and caring older sister. And that was the only duty she was happy to fulfill. And so, while the clan worshiped her power, Ram reserved all her devotion for the girl they despised.
Because in the end, Rem was the only one who mattered.
Even when it came to their own mother and father, she could never be entirely certain. Yes, they loved her. Ram believed they even loved Rem. Unlike the rest of the village, they never treated her as trash, never humiliated her, never drew a clear line between her and Ram. They tried to support her in their own way.
Yet a single, unsettling detail festered in Ram's heart.
They always reminded Rem that she was Ram’s sister—never the other way around. Their pride was conditional, their praise laced with expectation: "You must prove yourself worthy of being Ram’s twin", "You must strive to rise to her level".
Would they have spoken the same way if their roles were reversed? Did they love Ram because she was their daughter? Or because she was the clan’s divine vessel?
She wanted to believe the former. Desperately. But doubt gnawed at her, a quiet, persistent worm burrowing deeper with every hollow compliment in Rem’s direction.
Only one person had ever looked at her and seen Ram—not a god, not a tool, not a weapon, just Ram.
Rem.
Her beloved little sister, who cherished her not for her power but for who she was. The only one who shared the invisible thread of synesthesia with her, their souls intertwined across distance, their sensations and emotions shared. The only one Ram would burn the world to protect.
And when the Witch Cult came—when fire painted the night red and Ram lost everything: her clan, her horn, the cursed power that had defined her existence—all of it had little significance to her. For she still held tight to what truly mattered. She saved Rem.
The wizard who saved them from certain death, Roswaal L. Mathers, took them in, gave them refuge, and reshaped them into maids.
Days in the mansion as a maid, despite the constant ache of her crippled body, were happier than any she had known as the clan’s prized jewel. Even though the terrible weakness and pain throughout her body became her constant companions after losing her horn.
For the first time, she was free of the weight of their expectations. For the first time, she could simply be Ram. And that was enough for her.
Over the years, Ram had learned one undeniable truth—no one truly cared for her or Rem beyond the roles they filled. Frederica and Clind, their senior colleagues at Roswaal’s estate, were competent mentors. They trained the sisters well, ensured they mastered their duties, and treated them with professional courtesy.
But that was all it ever was—professional. Frederica’s kindness had limits, her warmth measured by propriety. Clind’s guidance was precise, his expectations unwavering. To them, Ram and Rem were simply subordinates—capable, reliable, but ultimately replaceable.
Then there was Garfiel.
A young boy who lived in the Sanctuary, a hidden settlement of demi-humans. The brash, golden-haired boy, younger than them but brimming with untamed strength. He wore his heart on his sleeve, his emotions as volatile as his transformations.
He clearly had warm feelings for Ram, but he carried mental wounds—some deep, unspoken terror of the world beyond Sanctuary’s borders that kept him shackled to his self-imposed cage.
Still, Ram saw potential in him. Not just as a fighter, but as someone who—like Rem—could rise above his weaknesses. Rem had spent years of her childhood clawing her way up from the clan’s scorn, refusing to surrender to their low expectations.
And so, Ram pushed him.
She needled him, mocked his cowardice, challenged him to prove himself. Not because she despised him, but because she believed in him. She wanted him to choose—truly choose—to face his fears. To step forward, toward her, toward a future unshackled by the past.
But time and again, Garfiel hesitated. His fear ran deeper than his affection. When the moment came to cross that line, to leave Sanctuary behind, he always balked. And though Ram understood—though she knew trauma was not so easily conquered—she could not help but feel a quiet disappointment. Because if he could not overcome his own fears, how could she ever rely on him?
She did not blame him. He was, in the end, just a frightened child. So she let him go. Because even if deep down he cared, when faced with the choice between fear and Ram, Garfiel always chose fear.
Ram had once believed Roswaal L. Mathers was different.
When he saved them from the ashes of their village, when he offered them shelter, purpose, even a semblance of family—she had dared to hope. At last, there was someone who saw Ram, not just the power she once wielded. Someone who valued Rem as more than a burden. Someone worthy of her loyalty. The one person she could trust with her soul, body, and even her sister.
She had been a fool.
A few months after they became maids in his mansion, Ram learned the dark secret of the margrave. Roswaal possessed a magical artifact, the Book of Wisdom, which described future events and the actions he needed to take to achieve his desired goals.
And on that fiery night, the Book had instructed him to be near the demon village and wait until only Ram remained alive so he could save her and take her in. After hearing Roswaal's explanation, Ram realized a very bitter truth.
Yes, he had saved her and Rem. Yes, he had given them the chance to start a new life, free from the clan's oppression. Yes, he cared for them in his own way. But he didn't even try to deny that he planned to use Ram and her power to achieve his ultimate goal — to bring the Witch of Greed, who had been the benefactor of the first Roswaal centuries ago, back to life.
To do this, he intended to kill none other than the Divine Dragon Volcanica. And the power of the demon god that still resided within her would be his weapon.
At that moment, she saw the truth: he was no different than Chief Setanta or the other elders of her clan. Like them, the margrave wanted only her power; he didn't care about her. Ram was never saved, just acquired.
That night, hatred boiled within her. Her maiden heart was broken to pieces. Her demon pride demanded that her vow of vengeance be fulfilled. For the death of her parents, for the destruction of her clan, for the trauma Rem had endured.
But she didn’t act on her wrath. Because revenge would cost her Rem.
Without Roswaal’s mana infusions, her body would fail. She would wither to nothing, leaving Rem alone in a world that had never shown her any kindness. And Rem—selfless, guilt-ridden Rem—would blame herself. She would carry Ram’s death as another failure, just as she had blamed herself for the loss of Ram’s horn.
Ram refused to let that happen. No matter what! She needed to ensure that Rem could live on and be happy, even if her older sister was gone. Until that happened, Ram couldn't die.
The single redeeming quality that separated Roswaal from her clansmen was this: he didn't detest Rem. The Book of Wisdom had been explicit — save only Ram, let the rest perish to eliminate potential interference. The Book contained no mention of Rem whatsoever. Yet when the moment came, Roswaal had extended his hand to both sisters.
Ram understood the calculus behind this mercy. Part hostage, part insurance policy — Rem was leverage to ensure her cooperation. Roswaal had been transparent about this cold pragmatism. But buried beneath the rationalizations, Ram detected something more... human.
The margrave had spared Rem because he understood loss. Because he knew severing the bond between sisters would render Ram useless to his plans. Because somewhere in his heart lingered compassion.
This complicated her hatred. Roswaal was still a monster — one who sought to wield her like a weapon. But he was a monster who had preserved the one thing that mattered to Ram.
And along with an unpleasant truth about her new master came the realization that she had leverage against him too. Roswaal needed her. Without Ram and the dormant power of the demon god still dwelling within her, his plan would never come to fruition. This meant he was just as dependent on her as she was on him. And this position gave her the opportunity to ensure a safe and peaceful life for Rem.
That night, they made a pact: she would serve and assist him in all his endeavors, and he would provide for the demon sisters. This would continue until the time came for her to fulfill her part of the deal and face the Dragon.
But there was one additional point Ram insisted on: if the Book of Wisdom ever failed him—if fate strayed from its pages—he would surrender himself to her judgment.
Sword, to he who would wield it.
Magic, to he who would cling to it.
Flame, to he who is devoted to it.
And Demon to he who desires it, one that shall destroy his very foundation.
This was the oath the mage and the demon made that night.
From that day, Ram began serving as Roswaal's personal maid. Over the next nine years, her feelings of hatred and thirst for vengeance faded. In their place grew respect, sympathy, and even empathy for the margrave in clown makeup. She came to know him from different angles. Yet she never let herself forget that in the end of the day - he didn't care!
He was miserable. And human. A man shackled to a witch’s will, who loathed his own reflection yet kept moving forward—not for ambition, but because stopping would mean admitting his previous sins had no purpose. When he wasn’t following the book, he governed with surprising fairness. He ensured his people prospered and that the sisters wanted for nothing. He even, in a certain way, cared.
He suffered from his own decisions and hated himself for the monstrous acts he committed, but he stubbornly followed the instructions of the cursed book. This revelation didn’t absolve him. Nothing could. But it reshaped Ram’s vengeance into something far more cruel—and far more kind.
One day, when the Book of Wisdom finally failed him, she would seize her right to pass the judgment. Not with a blade, not with magic, not with fire, but with the one thing Roswaal had never allowed himself: freedom.
She would burn the cursed book to ashes. She would force him to live—truly live—with the weight of every life he’d ruined. Furthermore, she would make him atone not through death, but through the unbearable mercy of a future where his choices were his own.
It would be a perfect revenge. After all, what greater punishment for a man who hid behind fate’s dictates than to face the terrifying responsibility of free will? And what greater repayment for the shelter he’d given them than the chance to reclaim his soul?
Ram owed him that much. As a maid. As a demon. And as someone who, despite everything, had come to understand him too well.
***
The thoughts of the distant past led the pink-haired maid to reflect on more recent events that had brought them to their current situation. This, in turn, prompted her to turn her attention to her companion.
Subaru slumped against a tree, trying to move his dislocated right arm as little as possible, and breathing heavily. Considering that less than a day ago, he was almost torn to pieces by a pack of Ulgarms, it was commendable that he was still conscious after everything he’d endured.
A simple and insignificant guy who recklessly went into the monster-infested forest to save a bunch of village children. Got severely mauled there by said monsters but succeeded nonetheless. And the very next day he volunteers to go there again and follows Ram with a single goal of finding and rescuing her sister.
At first glance, it seemed like the plot from one of those sentimental novels Rem adored—the kind where devotion defied reason, where love conquered all. But Ram knew better. That they were not characters in a romantic story.
Everything was too good to be true. Why would Subaru risk himself so much for two maids he had known for only a few days? And it wasn't as if they had shown him much friendliness. Despite her teasing accusations, Ram didn't believe his motivation was to get under their skirts. It seemed as though he had genuinely acted out of a desire to save them, from the bottom of his heart. The thought warmed her soul, but Ram wasn't willing to believe it so easily.
Subaru was a real enigma to Ram. From the moment he’d awakened in Roswaal’s mansion, Subaru had been a bundle of contradictions. Clumsy yet relentless, incompetent yet eerily intelligent at times—he moved through the manor’s halls like someone who’d memorized its blueprint before coming here. His butler skills were laughable, yet he worked himself to collapse without complaint. He worked like a machine, often causing more trouble than good.
Rem had initially been extremely suspicious of him, and Ram could understand why. According to her sister, the new butler reeked of the Witch's miasma — one of the hallmarks of the hated Witch Cult. Roswaal’s orders to monitor him closely had only heightened the tension.
Then came that second evening. Subaru had crumpled into Emilia-sama’s lap, sobbing like a child before succumbing to exhaustion. The spectacle should have disgusted Ram if she saw that. Instead, it revealed something far more comforting: that boy was simply too soft-hearted to be a monster.
Rem’s suspicions had wavered then. Ram, too, felt the knots in her shoulders loosen. This pathetic display made her stop worrying that her beloved, wonderful, but overly impulsive sister might do something they would later regret.
The true turning point came at dusk on the fourth day. The mansion staff had barely returned from their village errands when Subaru raised the alarm. A shaman had infiltrated the settlement, and the children were in mortal danger. The proof? The puppy bite on his hand wasn’t just a wound. It was a curse festering beneath his skin.
Ram’s mind raced. Roswaal’s orders demanded vigilance, but if Subaru spoke the truth, hesitation could cost lives. And if this butler really was a piece on the margrave’s chessboard, ignoring him might disrupt some greater plan. A calculated risk was needed.
Ram decided to trust his judgment and send Rem with him to check the village. If Rem's suspicions about Subaru turned out to be justified, she would have a much better chance of detecting an ambush in advance and holding out in battle until Ram could arrive to help.
Meanwhile, Ram went to search for the Great Spirit in the Forbidden Library to verify Subaru’s claims. The library’s ever-shifting doors tested her patience, but when she finally breached its sanctum, Beatrice’s confirmation sent a chill down her spine.
Subaru was right.
This both pleased and worried the maid. On one hand, Subaru had once again proven his trustworthiness. On the other hand, it meant that the village was in real danger, and her little sister had gone straight into it! Ram used her Clairvoyance to see what Rem was seeing. She and Subaru were definitely in the forest, in a clearing, next to a group of village children lying unconscious on the grass with bite marks on their bodies.
The picture became clear. This was a direct assault on the margrave's domain. Ram immediately turned to Beatrice, asking for help in saving the children. The Great Spirit initially coldly dismissed the request, stating that she had no interest in some village and its inhabitants, but the maid was prepared for such a response.
She informed Beatrice that she would then go to Emilia to enlist her support and her contracted spirit, Puck. That she would also ask them to convince Beatrice to help. And that, in case of refusal, Emilia would be greatly disappointed in Beatrice, which could negatively affect her opportunities to spend time with Puck.
Ram had to make an effort to maintain a neutral expression when the spirit girl began to adorably protest and shout about the maid's underhanded tactics. She was somewhat intrigued by Beatrice's remark: "You're just as shameless as he is! Using the same dirty tricks, in fact!" But at that moment, she didn't have time to inquire further. The important thing was that Beatrice agreed to go with them to the village to help the children.
From there, everything went smoothly. Emilia immediately offered to help in any way she could. She even declared her readiness to summon Puck in the middle of the night if necessary. By the time they reached the village, the children had already been safely brought back.
The relief was short-lived, though, because curses on them had been activated, putting the children in mortal danger. Emilia was so worried about them that she even forced Puck to materialize, violating conditions of their pact, to help Beatrice fight the curses.
Meanwhile, the villagers reported that Subaru and Rem had gone into the forest to look for the kids. The search party that followed them found Rem using healing magic on six of the missing children. The seventh child was not with them, and Subaru had gone to look for her. After passing the children over to the adults, Rem went after Subaru.
Before they could even breach the barrier’s edge, Rem emerged from the forest. Her clothes were torn in many places, and she was covered in blood, both her own and that of the mabeasts. In one hand, she held the unconscious body of Subaru, who looked no better, and in the other, the last missing child—a blue-haired girl with her hair in a braid.
Rem reported that Subaru had been attacked by a group of mabeasts and was badly wounded. While fending off the mabeasts all the way to the barrier, she hadn't had time to tend to his wounds. Emilia ordered them to take the Subaru to nearest house, saying she would take care of his treatment.
Rem offered to do it herself, but Ram and Emilia stopped her. Rem had already done enough, and with such wounds, she needed to take care of herself first. Ram could feel that Rem was deeply worried about Subaru, but that was normal.
Then Puck appeared and delivered great news—the curses on the children had ceased. This could only happen in one case—the mabeasts that had cursed the children earlier had been slain. Rem briefly explained that in the process of rescuing the last child, she and Subaru had killed many mabeasts.
The Great Spirit explained that among them must have been those who had cursed the children, meaning their lives were now out of danger, and they only required healing and rest.
On this happy note, it was decided to end the day. After putting her little sister to bed in one of the houses and promising that she could visit the wounded butler first thing in the morning, Ram asked her in detail about what had happened. As Ram listened, something unfamiliar stirred in her chest — a slow, grudging warmth that felt almost like respect.
Who could’ve guessed… He rushed into the forest full of monsters, even though he was shaking with fear like an autumn leaf in the wind.
‘Garfiel could stand to learn this brand of foolishness. ’ Ram mused back then. The Sanctuary boy had strength to spare but faltered due to his own fears. Barusu—weak, unskilled Barusu—somehow found the mettle to charge through terror.
The boy remained an incorrigible fool. That much was undeniable. Who else would face down a forest of mabeasts armed with nothing but reckless courage and a complete disregard for self-preservation?! Who else would throw himself at an enraged demon maid to save her from a pack of hungry mabeasts?!
And yet, despite all his shortcomings, Subaru was no stranger to bravery bordering on stupidity. Though, of course, Barusu wouldn't be Barusu if any positive trait of his wasn't accompanied by a negative one that almost negated the benefit of the first. But, as Ram decided, the key word was "almost".
***
The next morning promised to be a good one. The weather was sunny and pleasant. Since the night before, the villagers of Arlam had been filled with jubilation, rejoicing that a potential tragedy had been averted. All the children were safe and even relatively unharmed, and the heroes who had saved them had also returned, wounded but alive.
Of course, there was some concern that such an incident had occurred at all, but all's well that ends well. This good mood spread to Ram as well, who decided to further strengthen the relationship between the villagers and the staff of Lord Roswaal's mansion. And what better way to do it than cooking a whole basket of steamed potatoes and distributing them to the villagers?
Seeing Subaru come outside, Ram tried to suppress her joy at how quickly he had recovered. Emilia had done an excellent job. How unexpected of her.
Nevertheless, Ram decided to show her favorable disposition toward the black-haired boy by giving him not one, but two of her signature steamed potatoes. A rare generosity that wasn't easy to earn, by the way. If only Subaru knew how lucky he was.
After finishing distributing the treats, Ram went into the house where Rem had rested the night before, only to find an empty bed. Assuming that Rem had gone to look for Subaru, she tried to use her Clairvoyance to find out where she was. But the attempt failed. The girl instantly became worried. How could she, in good health, not be able to connect to her sister's consciousness and see the world through her eyes?
With growing fear, she tried to contact Rem through synesthesia, and her worries increased tenfold. There was no response. Wherever Rem was, she was deliberately suppressing their connection. Because even in their sleep, the sisters could feel each other.
In desperation, Ram focused on Subaru, fearfully nurturing the hope that Rem, after the events of the previous night, had decided to have a very important conversation with the young man in private.
But she saw that the boy was talking not to her sister, but to the Great Spirit Beatrice. And, judging by the girl's face, the conversation wasn't a pleasant one. Realizing from the surroundings where the pair was, the maid hurried in that direction.
As she approached, she began to hear snippets of the conversation. It turned out that Subaru was still in danger—the mabeasts that had bitten him had placed a new curse on him that couldn't be easily removed, and the only way to save him was to kill the creatures before the curse activated.
For Ram, everything became clear. She understood where and why Rem had gone. Struggling to suppress the trembling in her body, she faced the pair to find out everything she could.
As soon as she said about going into the forest, Subaru immediately followed her. He even delivered a powerful, life-affirming speech about how as long as you're alive, you must never give up. Ram was almost surprised by such fighting spirit from what seemed like an ordinary boy. Had she been wrong about him?
And just a little later, with pride and some irritation, she noted that, as usual, her first impression had been completely correct. Perhaps he was full of determination to find Rem, but he clearly lacked the strength, blood, and energy to do so.
Subaru was panting and barely moving, clearly not fully recovered from yesterday's wounds. But there was no choice, and she couldn't stop him without resorting to violence. Nor did she want to. In Ram's eyes, anyone who genuinely wanted to help Rem had every right to have her support.
After successfully fending off the first group of mabeasts, Subaru did something incomprehensible. He started talking about something called a "return" but was cut off by a sharp pain in his chest. Ram didn't have time to figure out the situation because the forest had literally gone mad.
A whole horde of animals began to approach them. According to Subaru, he had amplified the scent of the Witch, causing all the mabeasts in the area to target him, which would lead the creatures to them, and Rem would follow.
Ram didn't know whether to consider Subaru's plan genius or insane, but she decided to think about it later. The mabeasts came in relentless waves, in ones and twos, then in snarling packs. There were so many of them that even Subaru managed to kill a few with a cheap sword the villagers gave him.
Ram tried to act as economically as possible, using her magic with maximum efficiency. Her wand moved like an extension of her will, each strike precise—no wasted motion, no mercy. But for every beast felled, two more appeared, and her strength was quickly leaving her.
She realized it was the end when, instead of another wind blade, her spell caused sharp pain throughout her body. The taste of blood filled her mouth, and her legs refused to hold her up. Another mabeast, instead of being cut down by her magic, rushed past her, aiming to take a bite out of Subaru.
She didn't even have the strength to turn her head and see if the Ulgarm had succeeded. All her thoughts were consumed by the realization of her failure. The plan was doomed from the start. It didn't matter if she had to face each mabeast one by one or all at once. There were simply too many of them for a hornless demon.
In her final moments, Ram was consumed by despair and self-loathing. She wouldn't be able to fulfill the oath she had made to herself regarding Roswaal. She wouldn't be able to protect her one and only beloved sister from danger. Even if Rem didn't die from the mabeasts' fangs, the consequences of overusing her horn would be catastrophic.
More than that, Ram had doomed not just herself but the foolish yet noble boy who had trusted her strength. For the first time in years, she cursed the absence of her horn. The power she hated so much could have saved them all.
Her last hope was that Subaru, seeing their hopeless situation, would run away on his own. If she was lucky, the sight of her limp body would seem more appetizing than fleeing prey. This was the last thing she could do to repay Subaru for stepping up to save Rem, for going with Ram to search for her. For… caring.
Absorbed in these dark thoughts, she didn't immediately understood that she had been lifted off the ground and carried somewhere at great speed. It took Ram a few seconds to realize that Subaru had grabbed her and was carrying under his arm like a sack of potatoes, running for his life from the hungry beasts.
If Ram had had any strength at that moment, she would have yelled at him for this idiocy. He could barely stand on his own feet, after all! He should have been saving his own life, but instead was risking even more by depriving the mabeasts of any prey and taking on an additional burden!
She didn't even have the strength to lift her head. However, this didn't stop her from feeling deeply grateful. Whatever the outcome, Ram was glad to know that she hadn't been abandoned until the very end.
She remembered the following events only vaguely. They ran from the mabeasts, fell off a cliff, and Ram used the last remnants of her mana to slow their fall and lost consciousness.
When she came to her senses, they were still running from the mabeasts, but now, in addition to everything else, they were being pursued by a bloodthirsty Rem. At least she was dealing with the mabeasts first.
Subaru's idea to throw Ram at Rem to distract her and get a chance to strike her horn bordered on idiocy. Then again, almost all his decisions that day had been on the edge of idiocy, and Ram was in no condition to even move her arms, so she was willing to do anything to save her sister. And, against all odds, against all reason, the idiot's plan had worked.
***
Having finished reflecting on her past, Ram sighed quietly, deciding that she should focus on the present so that she could dream of the future again later. Rem was safe, and that meant everything else wasn't so bad. But one detail still bothered Ram: Subaru. What were his intentions? What drove him to do all this?
Ram carefully studied Subaru's silhouette illuminated by moonlight. His shoulders rose and fell with each tired breath, his usual bravado stripped away by exhaustion. This was the moment—when defenses were lowest, when truths slipped through cracked resolve.
“Barusu,” she said softly, addressing the butler. “Why did you do it?”
“Do what, Nee-sama?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her.
“When the Ulgarms attacked, you chose to carry my powerless body with you instead of saving yourself.” she leaned forward, moonlight catching in her sharp gaze. “Explain this idiocy.”
“What do you mean, idiocy?” Subaru asked, still confused, but now frowning.
“Exactly that—idiocy! I had no strength left to fight or even stand. Ram may be a slender and lightweight girl, but you're still a weakling even at your best, and today you were far from even that.”
“Do you really have to rub salt in the wound?!” he replied, overly emotional. Ram had expected such a reaction.
“You could barely walk because of the wounds you received yesterday. Leaving me there and running away would have been the rational choice. Maybe they would have pounced on me, giving you a chance to escape. Instead, you decided to lower your already slim chances even further by taking me with you. Why did you do it?!”
“A rational choice?” Subaru almost whispered the phrase, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
His tone suddenly lost its relaxed quality, and his head dropped, hiding his expression. But Ram kept pressing, drilling into the young man with a stern gaze, trying to uncover his true motives.
Many years ago, she had believed that someone had decided to save her out of the goodness of their heart. And she had been deeply disappointed in the end. She wasn't that naive little girl anymore.
Ram's words hung in the air like a challenge, her crimson eyes boring into Subaru with surgical precision. She had laid her trap perfectly — appealing to logic and to self-preservation, all while watching for the slightest flicker of deception in his tired eyes. She had to push more.
“What did you hope to achieve? One misstep, one wrong move, and you would have fallen. And after that, you would have had no chance of survival. Why take such an unnecessary risk for a pair of simple maids? Do you want Ram and Rem to be in your debt? Why would you want that? Ram is just a hornless demon. I have no...” her speech was cut off when the young man suddenly stood up.
Subaru didn't answer immediately. First, he stood, brushed off his pants, and then took a couple of steps toward the girl interrogating him. She tensed internally and subtly reached for her wand.
This was the decisive moment. Now she would learn the truth. She could only hope with all her heart that the truth wouldn't be bitter. After all, she had grown somewhat attached to this clumsy butler.
“Ram... let me ask you...” he began, his tone calm but tense. Then suddenly he added volume and anger to his voice. “Are you a COMPLETE IDIOT?! Why am I even asking—you must be an idiot to spout such nonsense!”
Ram was taken aback by the sudden shift in conversation. She had anticipated various responses, from attempts to laugh it off to revelations that everything, starting with the shaman's attack on the village, had been part of a plan to lure the sisters into the forest and kill them. But she hadn't expected this.
“Rational choice?!” Subaru spat the words like poison, keeping his voice just below a shout through visible effort. “You think I could ever look Rem in the eyes after leaving you to die?! Leaving you behind as monster food so I can just save myself?! Go to hell with such ideas!”
“I...” Ram opened her mouth, the habitual third-person reference dying on her lips as Subaru's tirade continued unabated.
To his credit, even in this situation, he tried not to raise his voice too much so as not to alert every mabeast in the area to their location.
“I didn't bite the bullet saving Rem yesterday just to abandon her sister the next day in the same situation! Don't even try to feed me this bullshit about rational choices! I did it because I couldn't have done otherwise! Because there was no other way! Think about it—what would have happened to Rem if she had succeeded in her plan and then found out you had died?! Wouldn't that have rendered all her efforts meaningless?! The same goes for you! We came into this forest to save Rem! That means no other outcome is acceptable!”
Seeing that Ram wasn't trying to interrupt him anymore, Subaru decided to add more.
“You know, once I was asked which of two demons from an old fairy tale I would choose. Which one I would want to be friends with. The Red Demon, who only knows how to take and let others pay the price?” he raised his right hand with great difficulty, palm up, as if an image of the Red Demon or some other symbolic figure should appear above it.
“Or the Blue Demon, the fool who always sacrifices himself for the first and revels in it?” Subaru repeated the motion with his left hand.
Ram looked somewhat confused by the sudden mention of an unknown fairy tale involving demons. The characters Subaru described somehow reminded her of herself and Rem. But along with the confusion came curiosity.
“And which of the two demons would you want to be friends with?” she asked, involuntarily holding her breath in anticipation of the answer.
With a smug smirk, Subaru clenched both fists, indicating that he would choose both. Seeing Ram frown and prepare to comment, but he made his move first.
“I can guess what you're thinking, Ram. That this is the position of an indecisive person who doesn't understand either side and will end up being left behind by everyone, right?” he said confidently, noting with satisfaction the surprise on the girl's face as he almost completely echoed her thoughts.
Unfortunately, Subaru couldn't explain that this was only because they had already had this conversation before. But now, remembering everything he had experienced in previous loops, everything he had learned about the sisters, and what he himself wanted to achieve, he was determined to use any knowledge he had.
“But you know what? I don't give a damn! I'm not going to choose one or the other! I won't let either of you die! Not Rem, and not you! Even if each of you tries to sacrifice herself for the other, I'll drag you both kicking and screaming to tomorrow! Because that's what I want!”
The sheer audacity of it—the impossible, reckless certainty in his voice—
“Because I don't want to see the despair breaking either of you!”
Ram's heart stuttered. The way he said it—like he knew, like he had seen it—sent a chill down her spine.
“That's right, Ram—I'm so greedy, I refuse to choose between the demon sisters! Even if I have to lay down my life to bring both of you home! I'll survive it, believe me! Odds be damned! I'll achieve my goal, no matter what!”
Subaru had worked himself up so much with his own speech that he puffed out his chest proudly and pointed at Ram with his good hand, as if challenging her. A confident grin spread across his face, and his eyes burned with the desire to see a happy ending.
For a few seconds, silence hung between the two. Subaru even began to feel a little awkward at the lack of reaction from the maid. Finally, as if coming to a decision, Ram turned her face away from him in her usual manner.
“Hmph! So cheeky, even though you're just Barusu,” she said quietly, mercilessly, but without any sarcasm in her voice.
“Yeah, not exactly the response I was expecting,” Subaru said, deflating a little at her words.
Meanwhile, Ram, still not facing him, stood up. Her body still felt terribly weak. Every muscle ached, and the pain where her horn used to be threatened to split her head open at any moment. But none of this bothered Ram. She had long since grown accustomed to this state.
At least she had gathered enough strength for another push. Maybe she even had enough for one or two simple spells. That meant their situation had improved.
“We need to keep moving. Pick up Rem and let's go.” she ordered in a detached tone, turning her back to him and facing the direction they needed to go.
The frustrated butler silently turned away and walked over to the peacefully sleeping beauty. But he was stopped by another remark from the pink-haired girl:
“I've decided to trust you, Barusu.”
“What?”
The moonlight caught the faintest curve of Ram's lips as she kept her back to him.
“That dramatic performance of yours was... moderately compelling. If you're so determined, then prove it. Ensure all three of us return safely.” A beat. “That includes you, obviously. Your mission isn't complete until you personally see us behind the mansion walls.”
Subaru's answering grin could have lit up the forest.
“Of course! What kind of happy ending would it be if I wasn't there to enjoy it myself?!”
As he lifted Rem with careful tenderness, Ram fought a most undignified battle against herself. Her traitorous heart hammered in her chest, warmth creeping up her neck despite her best efforts.
At the same time, she was desperately fighting against a completely alien thought—that someone like Barusu, illuminated by the moonlight, with a sparkle in his eyes and ironclad confidence in his words, could look so cool.
'Nonsense,' she told herself sternly. 'Absolutely ridiculous. Barusu doesn't have a single cool bone in his body!'
Yet the memory persisted, stubborn as the boy himself.
When Subaru approached her, holding Rem in his good arm, they set off into the darkness of the forest once more, hoping to soon reach the safety of a barrier.