The tea was good here, though.
Surprisingly good, actually. Subaru took a sip, savoring the warmth, letting herself relax for the first time in forever.
Here, among these monsters of history, she could finally act like herself.
No pretending to be a devil.
No forcing herself to be some untouchable, all-knowing entity.
No dealing with Betelgeuse's insanity, no Regulus being insufferable, no Pandora watching her like a snake waiting to strike.
Just her.
Of course, her Envy part still reared its ugly head every now and then.
Like when she'd randomly glare at someone for absolutely no reason.
Just a split second of pure, suffocating malice.
It happened a few times—she'd be sipping tea, completely fine, then suddenly, her vision would blur, and she'd feel the overwhelming impulse to hate.
And the moment she snapped back to herself—
The witches shuffled uncomfortably every time, their smiles turning stiff.
Even they—the literal Witches of Sin—were terrified of it.
Which, really, said a lot.
Eventually, though, the tea party ended.
Subaru put down her cup, exhaled, and willed herself back into the real world.
And there she was.
Back in the church hall, standing on the dais, the cultists still frozen in time.
Oh.
Right.
She still had a few seconds to kill.
Her eyes flickered to Betelgeuse, frozen mid-speech, his expression one of pure devotion.
Subaru lifted a single finger and gently booped his forehead.
Then she mist-stepped over to Regulus, took his chair, and moved it two feet to the left—just enough to make him feel like something was off when he sat down but not enough for him to be sure.
Then she knocked over a goblet on purpose near some random cultist's robes, because why not? Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Finally, with a smirk, she willed time to resume.
And immediately, Betelgeuse stumbled forward, confusion flashing across his face for a fraction of a second before he continued his rambling.
Regulus sat down—
And instantly paused.
A slow frown crept onto his face as he shifted slightly, eyes narrowing, subtly glancing around like something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what.
Perfect.
Subaru suppressed a grin.
Fine.
If she was fated to this shit, then she was going to be the best villain ever.
TBC
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